


Call and Response

by Swimly



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Confessions, Courtroom Drama, Eventual Sex, Fluff, Gaslighting, Hurt/Comfort, I'm nearly 30 this is the guiltiest of guilty pleasures, Kissing, M/M, Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rating May Change, Repressed Memories, Slow Burn, Sort Of, Tags May Change, Therapy, They both know, emotionally repressed Galo, just Galo's parents, maybe? - Freeform, not beta read - I can't let anyone know I still write fanfiction, not between the boys obvs, overly emotional Lio, there's just a lot going on, trauma responses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:34:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24448153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swimly/pseuds/Swimly
Summary: Galo, Lio, and the crew finally start settling down after the Parnasus incident. But as Galo and Lio grow closer, Galo is forced to face the abuse he's experienced and repressed so that he can help put Kray behind bars.I haven't written a fanfic in years, but this particular idea wouldn't leave me alone so here we are.
Relationships: Gueira/Meis (Promare), Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos, Remi Puguna/Varys Truss
Comments: 31
Kudos: 210





	1. The First Call

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, bear with me here. It's been a hot minute. It's worth noting there's an established "relationship" between Galo and Lio, where they each know there's something going on, but they haven't really acted on it because they're real busy and dealing with a lot. So there's going to be a lot of mutual pining that they both know about and understand but the process of resolving those feelings is gonna be slow af.

“Galo?”

“Yeah?”

“What happened? Between you and Kray?”

Galo tensed almost imperceptibly. Lio noticed it. There was a long beat of silence. Finally, keeping his eyes cast down, Galo spoke firmly, “You heard him on the Parnasus. You know what happened.”

Lio frowned. He placed a hand on Galo’s knee. Galo tensed further, turning away. “I know what he said,” Lio spoke softly, knowing he was treading on sensitive ground, “But he didn’t exactly elaborate. And I want to know about it from you, not him.”

It had been just over a week since the Parnasus incident. They were still trying to find some level of normalcy. Galo had been helping the rest of the Burning Rescue crew with clean-up and rebuilding efforts. Lio, Gueira, and Meis had been occupied with helping former Burnish prisoners reunite with loved ones. In the evenings they all met up for dinner together. The first night, Galo had insisted on Lio staying with him. Varys promptly followed suit in offering the spare bedroom of the apartment he and Remi shared to Gueira and Meis.

Remi had balked, “How are we supposed to handle two more roommates?”

“We have the space though. And they need a place to stay.” Varys had said.

Remi grumbled, “You’re not the one who does the dishes.” But ultimately never put up a real fight. From what Lio heard, they’d all become fast friends.

Now, a week into things, Lio had stopped trying to argue against staying with Galo. He found being alone was hard. His body ran colder these days, and he’d spent so many years surrounded by at least half a dozen of his people at any given time that being alone made him anxious. And Galo - well, Galo had re-lit his fire. He felt tied to Galo in a way. It seemed like Galo needed the company anyways.

So this evening, nine days after the Parnasus incident, they found themselves on Galo’s couch, music turned on the stereo but low enough to just be background noise. They were both exhausted from the day’s work. Neither of them had even showered yet. They’d simply kicked their shoes off at the door and dropped on the couch, simultaneous sighs of relief huffing from their lungs.

After two long minutes of silence, Lio was nearly ready to drop the matter and head for the shower, but just as he began lifting his hand from Galo’s knee, Galo pressed his hand firmly on top of it, a silent request: _Stay._

Lio relaxed back into the couch, but said nothing, letting Galo find his footing and choose his words, a silent response: _Of course._

After a deep and shaky breath, Galo finally spoke, “I was eight. I was upstairs playing in my bedroom. My parents were downstairs making lunch. There was a sudden explosion of fire bursting through all the windows. The flares barely missed hitting me directly. I ran downstairs to find my parents and my mom was on the ground- burning and… and screaming.”

Lio tightened his grip on Galo’s knee. Galo followed suit and squeezed his hand. He continued, “My dad was frantically trying to put them out. He saw me and yelled for me to get out of the house, to go get help. But I wouldn’t leave. I wanted to help him save mom. I tried to help him put out the fire.” Galo looked down at his free hand. “I remember exactly how the flames felt against my hands- how hot they were. I remember what my mom’s screaming sounded like. I still hear her sometimes, in my dreams. I remember the fear in my dad’s eyes. We tried for… it felt like hours, but I guess it was only a few seconds. Then the ceiling started to fall. My dad shoved me out of the way. He and my mom got crushed under the ceiling. That’s… that’s when the screaming stopped. I tried to lift the debris off of them, but my dad grabbed my hand, looked at me, and said ‘get out of the house _now,_ ’ and he shoved me toward the door. I turned and ran, opened the front door and- _slam-_ right into Kray.”

Lio thought for a moment. “I thought he _saved_ you. It sounds like he was just the first person you ran into.”

“I thought so too.” There was a strong bitterness in Galo’s voice. “I was so young, and we spoke to so many reporters. I didn’t have my parents, so I just parroted everything Kray said. I didn’t know to do any differently.”

“He made you lie to reporters?”

“Didn’t _make me,_ no. He would repeat his version of the story to reporters and then turn to me and say ‘go on, Galo, you _know_ how it happened, go ahead and tell them’ and I didn’t know what else to say, so I just repeated what he said. I thought that’s what I was supposed to do. I did it so many times… I started believing it myself. By the time I was a teenager, I’d told the story so many times, I’d heard _him_ tell it so many times, I fully believed that’s what happened. I didn’t remember the truth until we were on the Parnasus, when he said the truth out loud himself.”

“Shit, that’s… that’s awful, Galo. I’m-” Lio turned away, staring at a nondescript spot on the faux hardwood floor, “I’m so sorry.”

Galo squeezed Lio’s hand again and met his eyes for the first time since the conversation began, “Don’t apologize. It’s nothing compared to what your people have been through… what _you’ve_ been through because of him.”

Lio frowned, “That doesn’t make what he did to you any less horrible, Galo.”

“Maybe not, but,” Galo smiled at him, but there was a deep sadness behind it, “it doesn't mean I have the right to complain.” He got up and retreated to the bathroom before Lio could counter him. He thought about going after him, but then the shower started running.

Galo returned from his shower seemingly in a better mood, and Lio didn’t want to further twist the knife. So when Galo tossed him a towel and said “ S’all yours, bud,” he simply nodded and took his turn in the bathroom. The rest of the night passed in relative normalcy. Galo was thankful. Lio was concerned.

* * *

The next day’s work was even more exhausting than the last. Galo and the Rescue crew had spent all day clearing a particularly wrecked part of town and Lio and his team had a list of next of kin to notify of the deaths of their loved ones. So at the end of the day, when the subject of dinner came up, nobody felt keen on going out. Instead, Galo made a list of everyone’s requests and he and Varys went to the closest open convenience store and picked up some cold cut sandwiches and cup noodles. When they returned to the Burning Rescue station, everyone piled into the common area and Galo passed out all the food.

The meal was quiet, but not silent. The crew discussed the day’s happenings in somber tones. Everyone was drained. The conversation was interrupted by Galo’s phone ringing. He fished around for it in his pockets, puzzled. “Who the hell is calling me? Literally everyone I know is in this room.”

Finally procuring it from one of his many pants pouches, he looked at the screen. It was a number he didn’t recognize. He answered it, “...Hello?”

“Mr. Galo Thymos?”

“Uh- yeah? Speaking.”

“Mr. Thymos, I’m with the Promepolis city courts. Local authorities need to speak with you about last week’s incident, and about your connection to Mr. Foresight.”

“Oh, uh… sure. When do you need me to come in?”

“Can you come immediately? This is a very urgent matter as the city prepares it’s prosecution of Mr. Foresight.”

“Right, um, yeah. The courthouse right? I’ll be there in just a few minutes.”

He hung up the phone and tucked it in his pocket. The room was silent and everyone was staring at him expectantly.

“I uh… gotta go to the courthouse. Some folks need to talk to me about what happened so they can start charging Kray with crimes and stuff.” He shuffled to his feet, setting aside his cup noodles.

“Want me to come with you?” Lio offered, a little worried given their previous night’s conversation.

“Nah, that’s okay. You’d just be waiting around, and I get the impression they want me to be alone anyways.” Galo stretched and headed to the lockers to retrieve his keys and biking gear. “I’ll text you when I’m done.” He called to the room as he left. Everyone knew it was directed at Lio.

* * *

Gradually, the rest of the crew left for their respective homes. Everyone offered Lio a ride, but he turned each one down. About three hours later, Lio’s phone pinged.

| _Galo_ : _Hey man. I’m done here. You at home?_

He shot a text back.

Galo stood by his bike, getting his leather jacket on, waiting to hear where Lio was so he knew where to go. A ping.

| _Big_ _Boss Lio: Still at the station. Wanted to wait for you._

Galo felt his ears heat up. In the deluge of work, he and Lio hadn’t had much time to bond after becoming a giant mech and punching the Earth back to normal. And Galo definitely hadn’t had the time to figure out if Lio was flirting when he said things like that or if he was just more open about casual platonic intimacy than Galo was used to. He shook the thought from his head, typed out a response, and put his helmet on to make the short drive back to the station.

Lio’s phone pinged again.

| _Galo_ : _You got it, boss. Be there in 5._

His stomach fluttered. Something about Galo calling him ‘boss’ always hit weird. He was used to the term from Meis and Gueira and the other Burnish. But coming from Galo, it sounded odd. He knew Galo meant it in an endearing way, and maybe that’s why it was different. At first, Lio thought he was teasing him, calling him ‘boss’ despite him no longer having any real organization to be the boss of, rubbing it in that Lio had no power anymore. But the more he said it, the more care he showed to Lio’s feelings and Lio’s people, the more genuine it felt. And there was a compassion and an understanding behind it that he had only ever heard from Meis and Gueira before, and even then, only occasionally.

Lio collected his own belongings from the locker room, which largely consisted only of Galo’s spare helmet and his keychain with one key on it: a copy of Galo’s apartment key. He’d not yet had to use it beyond testing it after it was made- he and Galo always traveled home together. But there was something both calming and deeply terrifying about having a house key. On one hand, the key said he had a place, one he didn’t have to run from to avoid persecution. On the other hand, the key implied a permanence that Lio had never experienced before. In giving him the key, Galo was inviting him to stay. Lio wasn’t sure he knew how to stay anywhere for more than a while.

Lio was standing outside the station, helmet under his arm, when Galo pulled up. Kicking out the stand, Galo sat up and tipped up the visor of his own helmet. “Hey, ready to go?” He scooted a little further up the seat, making room for Lio. He looked even more exhausted than before, and his eyes were- _Has he been crying?_

Lio didn’t want to comment on the state of Galo’s face, but as he put his helmet on, he couldn’t help but ask, “So what did the courthouse want?” He slid onto the seat behind Galo, scooted close to him, and wrapped his arms around Galo’s waist. This had quickly become Lio’s favorite part of the day, and while he had a sneaking suspicion why, he actively chose to savor the experience without much thought put into it.

Galo tipped his visor back down. “The prosecution wants me to testify against Kray- about Parnasus _and_ about my parents’ death.”

Before Lio could respond, Galo kicked the stand back up, revved the engine, and peeled out into the street towards home. Lio tightened his hold, moving one hand up over Galo’s chest, hoping it would convey his thoughts at least a little; _I’m here for you._


	2. Boundaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More a continuation of the last chapter than a new chapter all together. Mostly emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have any real update schedule for this. I'll just be adding to it as the inspiration strikes. It should be fairly frequently though, given how I have near limitless free time right now what with self-quarantining to avoid the Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour.

They stepped into the apartment and, before Lio had even closed the door behind them, Galo had dropped his helmet and jacket to the floor, kicked off his shoes, and disappeared down the hall, “I’m gonna shower.” The bathroom door shut a little harder than normal. Not quite a slam, but close.

Lio toed off his own shoes, gathered up Galo’s gear and put everything in its proper spot. Galo was rarely messy or careless with his things. “Clutter,” he’d said to Lio when he commented on the cleanliness of Galo’s apartment, “is a fire hazard. A truly great firefighter always has a clean and safe home!” Lio frowned. He knew Galo had to be feeling bad if he wasn’t even in the mood to put his gear away. He went to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water, depositing the glass in the dishwasher and noting it was nearly full. He dropped a soap pack in and started it, trying his best to remember the settings he’d seen Galo use. 

The shower still hadn’t started running in the bathroom.

Lio crept up to the bathroom door. The light was on but there was a dark shadow blocking much of the light from under the doorway. Galo was sitting in front of the door. Lio leaned close to the door, listening quietly. Galo was definitely crying. It was a quiet, choked sound. Lio had never heard him cry. He had a hard time believing it was something Galo could even do. The man was too happy all the time. Even with how difficult things had been these last few days, no matter how tired he was, Galo always kept a positive attitude. 

Lio tapped gently on the door, “Galo?”

He saw the shadow of Galo’s form jolt, startled; heard him sniff, take a deep breath, and clear his throat, “Uh- yeah? What’s up?” He was trying so hard to sound like he was okay. Lio could hear the strain in his voice.

Lio thought for a moment. Asking what was wrong wasn’t the right approach. He knew what was wrong. And locking himself in the bathroom indicated Galo might want some level of space. He didn’t want to embarrass Galo. Like Lio, he had an immense amount of pride. “Can I, uh-” he started carefully, “Can I sit with you? On this side?”

Galo sighed, “Sure man, do what you want. It’s your house, too.”

A flutter crawled up Lio’s stomach. He knew it wasn’t his house, but he was grateful that Galo worked so hard to make him feel welcome. He sat on the floor, back to the bathroom door, mirroring what he imagined Galo’s position was.

“You don’t have to do this, you know.” Lio said softly, “You’re not obligated to testify against him. No one would blame you.”

“Yes they would, Lio. I’m the reason he was given as much power as he had. I have a duty to the people of this city to help make this right.”

“Well… I wouldn’t blame you.”

“You should. Your people have died because of me.” Galo’s voice was sharp, tense, angry.

For Galo to blame the deaths of Lio’s people on himself, when he was Kray’s first victim, Lio had to stifle the urge to leave the apartment and drag Kray from whatever holding cell he was in and beat the shit out of him a second time. He took great care in leveling his tone before he spoke. “That’s not true, Galo. _Kray_ hurt and killed my people, not you. _You_ helped me save them. You helped save the whole fucking planet.”

“None of it would’ve ever happened if I didn’t let him use me to gain fame and popularity.”

“You were a _child,_ Galo. You couldn’t have known.”

“I knew right from wrong by then. I knew what he was saying wasn’t true. I should’ve told the truth.”

This time Lio couldn’t convince himself not to act. He got to his feet. “Galo, open the door.”

After a brief pause, Lio saw his shadow move away from the door, but Galo didn’t open it. He took it as an invitation and opened it himself. Galo was sat, still fully dressed, on the edge of the shower. His head was ducked into his hands, his hair messy and ruffled. Lio stepped into the bathroom and knelt in front of him.

“Galo, look at me.” His voice was firm, but gentle.

Slowly, Galo looked up from his hands and met Lio’s eyes. His cheeks were red and raw from wiping his eyes on his singular sleeve. His bloodshot eyes betrayed how ragged and exhausted he was. 

Lio kept his voice low, not wanting to add the stress of shouting to his already over-stressed friend. “Galo, you have the right to feel however you feel about all of this. You have the right to be sad and scared and angry and every other emotion in the world,” he took Galo’s face in his hands. He could feel stubble forming along Galo’s jaw. He must not have shaved that morning. _So he wasn’t feeling well this morning to begin with,_ Lio noted. He also noted the way Galo’s face was heating up and his pupils dilated. Knowledge for later. Lio allowed himself to be a little louder, to be sure he got across how strongly he felt, “But you _do not_ get to blame yourself for what happened to you, to the Burnish, to the city, or to the world. None of it was your fault. And if it is too hard, if it is too much for you, you don’t have to testify against him. Not if it’s going to destroy you like this. You have to care for yourself.”

Galo took a deep, steadying breath, “That’s the thing, Lio. I _want_ to do it. I want to help put him behind bars. I want everyone to know what he’s done to people.” _To me._ “But I’m- I don’t know if I can do it. He was my idol for so long. I don’t know if-”

“You can do it, Galo.” Lio leaned forward and touched his forehead to Galo’s. “When you decide you want to do something, you do it without fail. So if you really want to go through with this, you can do it.” He stood before either of them had the chance to dwell much on Lio’s gesture. Lio held a hand out to Galo, “I’ll back you up one hundred percent, no matter what you want to do. Through spark and flame, right?”

Galo let go of a heald breath, took Lio’s hand, and stood. He looked down at Lio for a long moment before pulling him into a tight hug, “Thanks, Lio.”

Lio hugged him back, trying not to feel guilty for enjoying the sensation and the woody scent of the cologne Galo always wore. He hummed in response.

Galo pulled back and grinned at him, as if the last few minutes hadn’t happened, “Now get out of here, I really am gonna shower.”

* * *

The first night Lio had come home with Galo, they hadn’t slept much. They were both still too keyed up from adrenaline. It was late before they got to Galo’s apartment to begin with, then Galo gave a lengthy and in-depth tour of the small apartment, which devolved into Galo showing Lio his hand-drawn matoi gear schematics and plans. They weren’t particularly scientifically accurate, and some of them were definitely closer to childlike illustrations than actual plans, but Lio found himself impressed with the depth of Galo’s knowledge on the subject and the creativity and understated brilliance of many of his ideas for improved firefighting gear. Eventually, Lio passed out on the couch and Galo on the living room floor, surrounded by books and notes he’d been trying to share with Lio between yawns.

The second night, before any conversation on the matter could be had, Galo tossed Lio an oversized t-shirt and a loose pair of sweatpants and said, “You can go ahead to bed, I’ll be there in just a minute, just gonna set up the coffee maker for in the morning.” As if sharing the bed was unquestionable. Lio did as he was told, assuming perhaps Galo planned on making himself a spot on the floor. But when Galo entered the bedroom a couple minutes later in only a pair of low rising sleep shorts, there was no hesitation from him. He simply slotted himself under the covers next to Lio, though not quite touching, turned so he faced away from him, and cheerily said, “G’night bud!” Lio had waited a long time to be sure Galo was asleep before he scooted just close enough to Galo’s back that he could soak in some of the man’s heat. Galo, who was not quite asleep, pretended not to notice.

It was the same the following night and the night after. It became their routine. Galo would toss some semblance of pajamas to Lio, letting him know he’d join him in the bedroom shortly. Lio would tuck himself into bed. Galo would slide in next to him and turn away, not touching Lio at all, and would feign sleep until Lio was comfortable enough to scoot against his back and relax. Only then would Galo let himself sleep. Only once Lio allowed himself to feel safe and relaxed.

Tonight followed the same script all the way up to Galo turning away from Lio as he told him goodnight. But this time, Galo’s head was swimming with the memory of how Lio’s hands felt on his face. How soft and gentle he was. How close their faces were when he pressed their foreheads together. After a couple of minutes of listening to Lio’s soft breathing, Galo decided to take a tentative step into the unknown.

“Y’know, Lio, you don’t have to wait until you think I’m asleep to snuggle up with me.”

Lio, who’d been focused on a small water stain on the ceiling, instantly tensed and went hot in the face. He thought about denying it, but it didn’t seem worth it. Instead, he retorted, “Well, you don’t have to sleep three feet away with your back to me. I’m not some fair maiden who needs her honor protected.”

Galo turned over and faced Lio, propped his head up on his hand, and grinned, “That’s debatable.”

Lio scowled and promptly yanked Galo’s arm from under his head, laughing as Galo yelped.

“This is your sleeping arrangement, Galo, I just went along with it.” Lio huffed.

Galo looked a little hurt, “Yeah, I know. I just didn’t want you to feel alone, y’know? But I didn’t want to cross any boundaries either. If you aren’t comfortable with it, I don’t mind sleeping on the couch until we sort something else out.”

Lio nearly responded with a contentious comment about how he didn’t need to be coddled, but he really did appreciate the company. “No, I’m not uncomfortable Galo. I, uh- it’s nice, not sleeping alone. Thank you. I just, um-” he struggled to find the right words.

Galo had never seen Lio so flustered. In the dim bedroom moonlight, Galo could see Lio worrying his teeth against his bottom lip. Galo swallowed.

“It’s just been a while,” Lio finally found his words, “since I’ve shared a bed with anyone. Shared a room or a general sleeping space, sure. All the time. But an actual bed, it’s uh- it’s been a really long time. And I feel bad for imposing on you as it is.”

“You’re not imposing. I love having you here. I don’t hate coming home anymore.”

“Why on earth would you hate coming home?” Lio had a hard time imagining not being happy to have a safe place to eat, bathe, and rest your head.

“Because when I’m at home, I’m alone with my thoughts. With myself.”

Lio frowned, but said nothing, leaving room for Galo to elaborate. After a moment, he did.

“When I’m out there, or with the crew, I’m great. I’m happy. I love my job and I love getting to help people. I live for those crowds and that praise. It’s everything I want. But here, there’s no one to talk to. No one to tell about my day or share my happiness with. So it’s been nice to have you here, Lio. That’s one of the reasons I made you a key. Even if you get your own place, I-” He paused, mulling over his words, and then scooted closer to Lio, though still not touching him, “I’d really like it if you were here a lot. If you wanted to be here, of course.”

Lio’s face was warm. He and Galo were close enough that he could feel Galo’s slow breathing. He felt his heart pick up pace. He needed to steady himself. He took a deep breath and laced his fingers behind his head, trying to play things cool, “Finding my own place seems like too much hassle any time soon. Besides, I’ve moved around so much, it would be nice to stay put for a while,” he turned to lock eyes with Galo, “as long as it’s okay that I stay. I-” something heavy in Lio’s chest dropped, something he didn’t realize he’d been holding. He couldn’t keep up the cool act, “I’m really tired of running, Galo.” His throat was tight around his words. For the first time since Meis sent him rocketing away from Freeze Force’s destruction of the settlement, Lio felt he might cry.

Immediately, Galo closed the space between them and pulled Lio close, tucking his arm under Lio’s head. “Hey, hey- it’s okay, Lio. Jeeze, you think after how you’ve held me together all this time, I’d tell you I didn’t want you to stay? I want you here.”

Lio buried his face into Galo’s chest. He tried to feel embarrassed for his weakness, but it was drowned out by how tired his soul was of being strong for so long. Hot tears crawled down his face and pooled against Galo’s arm. Lio was faintly aware of the rough patches of skin beneath his head: Galo’s burns. He briefly felt an overwhelming sense of guilt but he wasn’t sure what for. He turned his face towards the burns and spoke into them, “I can’t run anymore, Galo. I’m too tired.”

Galo hugged him tighter, “Lio you never have to run again, okay? If you can put up with me and all my bullshit, if you’ll stay with me, I’ll make sure you never have to run again. You’re home, now.”

What little was left of Lio’s resolve shattered.

After a while, once Lio had cried himself dry and Galo had loosened his grip just slightly, Lio took a long breath, “Galo, I’m sorry.”

“What for, bud?”

“For getting so upset. You’re dealing with a lot right now. I should have my emotions more in check.”

Galo let out a genuine laugh. “Lio you idiot, you’ve been through literal hell in the last two weeks, in the last month, actually! I’m honestly surprised it took you this long to let loose. Don’t worry about it. I’m uh-” Galo’s face reddened slightly. He hoped Lio didn’t notice. He did. “I’m really honored you feel safe enough with me to let those kinds of feelings out.”

They laid in silence together for a long time, Lio listening to the slow, rhythmic drumming of Galo’s heart, and Galo draping his other arm across Lio’s thin frame, absently rubbing a few strands of Lio’s hair between his fingers as it laid splayed out across the pillow.

After a while, Galo broke the silence, “Y’know boss, they want you to testify, too. They just didn’t know how to reach you. I told them I’d pass the message along.”

“Good,” Some of the resolve found its way back into Lio’s voice, “I was hoping I’d get the chance to face that bastard in court.”

Galo didn’t turn away from Lio. Lio didn’t wait for Galo to be asleep before he tucked himself closer. It had been a long day. They were both grateful for the contact.


	3. Only Begun

Galo woke first. Sunlight slipped through the wooden blinds of the bedroom window, leaving warm stripes of gold across the bed. Lio was curled into himself, turned so that Galo was spooning him. Their legs had gotten tangled in the night. Galo didn’t try to undo them. He instead wrapped himself tighter around Lio and tucked his face into Lio’s hair. He briefly wondered what Lio’s shampoo smelled like, but upon inhaling, it occurred to him that Lio had just been using Galo’s shampoo. They hadn’t gone shopping for Lio yet. _We should do that._ He nuzzled into Lio’s hair and breathed deeply. Even so, it still smelled a little different from just Galo’s shampoo. A slightly lighter musk.

He pulled Lio into himself more, drinking in the sensation of intimate contact. Galo had certainly had a small handful of romantic interests over the years. But none lately, and it had been a painfully long time since he’d had the chance to hold someone, especially someone so small. Lio could absolutely protect himself. Of that, Galo had no doubt. But it didn’t stop him from feeling strong and protective as he blanketed Lio. _Is that what Lio is? A romantic interest? Is he the type to snuggle like this even if he isn’t interested?_ Galo’s thoughts, though he was breathing slow and deep into the curve of Lio’s neck, were kicking up like a dust storm. _It definitely sounds like he’s flirting sometimes. And sometimes he blushes when I say stuff to him. Do I want him to be a romantic interest? Would that be weird? Maybe you’re supposed to feel extra strongly for the guy you become a planet-sized mech with? What’s the precedence for this type of thing? Where’s the robo-bro support group for guys like us?_

Lio shifted in his sleep, snuggled deeper into Galo’s grasp, and pressed his lips into the crook of Galo’s elbow. He could’ve sworn he felt the soft peck of a kiss.

“...Lio?” Galo whispered into Lio’s sunlit hair.

There was no response, only slow and even breaths. The implications of Lio’s subconscious actions washed over Galo like the first few steps in waist-deep ocean waves. _Well I definitely didn’t dislike that. I don’t think he meant to do it, though._

Tentatively, and fully prepared to feign sleep if Lio noticed, Galo pressed a kiss into Lio’s hair. “Love you, bud,” he sighed, barely more than a mouthing of words.

They laid together for a long while, and Galo had nearly fallen back asleep when Lio finally stirred. He sighed awake, stretched his legs, rolled to his back, and froze, his nose nearly touching Galo’s.

“Mornin’ Boss.” Galo mumbled, eyes only half open.

Lio’s face ran hot. He was immediately hyper-aware of how entangled they were in each other, how closely and tightly Galo was holding him. And he called him ‘boss’ again. 

“H-hey. Uh- sleep well?” Lio’s throat was dry. Galo’s face was so close. _He’s so handsome. His eyes are so pretty._

Galo smiled at him, warm and soft. He still hadn’t loosened his hold on Lio. “Yeah, amazingly, actually. You?”

“Really good, yeah.” Lio tried to smile back, though he was worried the sudden rush of nerves he was feeling turned it more into a grimace. _Why am I so nervous? We sleep together all the time..._

“Hey, um-” Galo looked away, almost sheepishly, “I’ll feel really skeevy if I don’t tell you this but uh… I’m pretty sure you kissed me in your sleep.”

Lio blanched, “I wha-...?”

Galo pulled away slightly, “N-nothing serious! It was just a peck on my arm! I was gonna feel weird all day if I didn’t tell you.” He immediately missed thirty seconds ago when this conversation wasn’t happening.

Lio suppressed the urge to leap out the window, “Galo, I am so sorry, I-”

“What? Why would you be sorry?” 

“You have every reason to be freaked out by that. Shit, I convince you it’s okay to sleep close to me and then I go and kiss you in my sleep. Don’t worry, I’ll post up on the couch from now on.” Lio moved to leave the bed but Galo tightened his hold.

“Lio, chill out, man! It’s okay! I don’t mind.”

“You… don’t mind...” Lio said flatly, clearly not believing what Galo said.

“Of course not. I just felt like you should know,” Galo looked away, focusing on literally any other thing in the room that wasn’t Lio, “And… shit, I’ll feel even worse if I don’t say this, too, but… I kissed you back. _Not_ … in my sleep.”

“You… kissed me?” Lio wasn’t sure he hadn’t actually lept out the window and this wasn’t a pre-death fever dream.

“Yeah, right here,” Galo ran his fingers along the back of Lio’s head, gently tapping the spot he’d kissed, “I’m sorry. You were asleep so yours doesn’t count. I shouldn’t have done it without permission, I just… wanted us to be even I guess? I don’t know. It just… felt like the natural thing to do in that situation and now that I’m fully awake, in hindsight I can definitely see that it was kind of a weird thing to do since you’re my friend and all.”

Lio’s heart fell, “Your friend…” _That window is looking more and more inviting._

“Well, yeah, I guess,” Galo mused, puzzled, “I mean, I know it’s not really a strong enough word for everything we’ve been through together. I’m just still trying to figure out… well, everything…”

Lio suddenly needed to be anywhere but here. “I gotta piss.” He stated plainly, and rushed across the hall to the bathroom before Galo could give a response.

The bathroom was quickly becoming the understood room-used-for-feelings. Lio scrubbed his hands across his face and groaned. _I know I have feelings for him, but now is_ not _the time._ He let out a long sigh. _Does it even matter? He may not even like me that way. I mean, it seems like he does. He likes to cuddle and he says flirtatious stuff sometimes. But at the same time…_ In his reflection in the bathroom mirror, Lio noticed how small he looked swimming in Galo’s t-shirt. He pulled the collar up to his face and inhaled deeply, savoring the mix of detergent and cologne. _…this is Galo, and he can be clueless as hell._

When Lio left the bathroom he was surprised to find Galo on the edge of the bed, talking on the phone.

“-yeah listen, I know it’s important but we’re trying to rebuild a city here-- alright fine, I’ll talk to the chief. -- Yeah, I’ll bring Lio. But just know you’re taking valuable manpower away from recovery efforts. -- Yeah, yeah, we’ll get there when we get there.” He hung up the phone, dropped in on the bed, laid back and groaned dramatically.

“Everything okay?” Lio asked as he entered the bedroom.

“The folks at the courthouse are insisting you and I go down there today for our full reports. I have to call the chief and try to get the time off.” Galo draped an arm across his face and groaned again.

Lio could hazard to guess Galo didn’t like missing work. He laid down on the bed next to Galo, his legs dangling off the side. “Do you think you’re ready to talk about it?”

“No, I’m not. But I don’t have a choice.” Galo kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He lifted his phone up to his face and dialed the station. This time, Lio was close enough to hear Ignis over the phone.

“Hey chief, ‘s Galo.”

“Yeah I know, I have your number saved. Everything okay, rookie?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine, but the lawyers at the courthouse are bustin’ my balls to bring Lio down there so he and I can give full statements, so-”

“You both need the day off, then.”

“Yeah, they said it’ll probably take most of the day. I’m sorry, chief.”

“No apology necessary, Galo. We’ve got things covered here. You go and talk to them.”

“Yeah, alright. Thanks, chief.”

“You’re doing a good thing, Galo. Just take care of yourself while you do it.”

“...Yeah, will do.” Galo hung up the phone and sighed, returning his arm to its place draped across his eyes.

The two of them laid in silence for a while. Lio, hands folded on his stomach, was back to focussing on the water stain on the ceiling. _From this angle, it’s kind of shaped like a cat head._

Galo reached down with his free hand, took one of Lio’s, and laced their fingers together between them. He didn’t say anything, didn’t even turn in Lio’s direction.

A warm tickle ran up Lio’s stomach and into his ears. He turned to look at Galo, who was still covering his face with his arm.

“Galo?”

“Yeah?”

“You like me, don’t you?”

Galo let out a huff, a laugh wrapped in a sigh. “Of course I like you, bud.”

“No I mean, it seems like you probably have feelings for me.”

Galo thought for a long moment, and squeezed Lio’s hand as he answered, “I um… Maybe? Probably? I think I’ve just been too overwhelmed lately to really work through how I feel about anything,” He finally uncovered his face and turned to meet Lio’s eyes, “especially you. I’m sorry… that makes things weird, doesn’t it?”

“No. I like you too, Galo. A lot. But I think we’re both under a lot of pressure right now, and I think it’s okay if we want to table working out those feelings for a while.”

“How are we supposed to do that?”

“Galo, you don’t have to solve every problem all at once. I’m not going anywhere, as long as you want me here-”

“I do.”

“Then I’m here. You don’t have to work through those feelings right now. I can wait. I’m happy to meet you where you are, as long as you’ll do the same for me. Things are weird and difficult for me right now, too”

“How are you so calm all the time? During all of this? Don’t emotions ever get too heavy for you?”

Lio stared at Galo in amused disbelief. “Galo… I became a dragon and nearly burned down an entire city because of my emotions…”

Galo laughed, “Okay yeah, you’re right. But other than that one time, you seem to have so much control over your feelings.”

“It’s part of being a leader,” Lio smiled sadly, “You learn to wait until you’re alone to cry, or scream, or… y’know… jerk one out…” He laughed.

Galo flushed a deep red, “Woah, you _do_ that?”

“What?!” The bed shook with Lio’s full-body laughter, “Of _course_ I do that, Galo! Most people do!”

Galo sputtered through his words, face becoming hotter by the second, “Well sure, but- I just… I dunno, you just don’t seem like--”

Lio struggled to stifle his laughter, “Like what? Like a sexual person?”

“I- I guess?”

“Sure, not often, but mostly because I haven’t had the luxury. The venn diagram of time, safety, and a willing partner has almost always just been three separate circles for me.” He grinned, a sly mischief behind his eyes, “Trust me, it’s not for lack of desire.”

“Ah, uh-” Galo was suddenly hyper-aware of how sweaty his palms had become. “Yeah, uh- makes sense I guess.”

“If anything, Galo, I figured you were more a ladies’ man.” Lio smirked as he cocked an eyebrow.

“Oh, nah. I mean, I dated a couple girls when I was young and still figuring myself out. But once I figured out I was actually into dudes, I never looked back. What about you? Girls not do it for you?” Galo was genuinely curious.

“Anyone can do it for me. It doesn’t make a difference to me.” Lio shrugged.

“Huh. That’s cool.”

“I guess. Doesn’t mean I got many chances to act on it. I was more worried about making sure everyone got fed and had a place to sleep.”

The weight of Lio’s words blanketed the room, leaving the air thick and sad.

After a few moments, Galo sat up and stretched. “We should get dressed and get going. They’re expecting us.”

“Right.” Lio followed suit, and the two began getting dressed. Lio sighed as he pulled on his worn out pants. He paused to look over the plain black t-shirt Galo had loaned him for daily use. It was from when Galo was much younger, but was still over a size too big. Galo noticed Lio’s hesitation to pull the shirt on for the 10th time.

“Hey, after we’re done at the courthouse, we should go shopping for you.” Galo smiled, pulling on his sleeve, “Y’know, get you some of your own clothes and shampoo and stuff, so you feel more at home!”

“Wait, really?” Lio was immediately embarrassed by how poorly he hid his excitement at the idea. He’d never had more than a couple of outfits at any given time. Not since his Burnish Awakening, that is.

“Yeah, of course! I’m sorry we haven’t already done it, honestly.”

“I’d… really like that, actually.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do!” Galo grinned.

* * *

At the courthouse, they were separated and put into two adjacent rooms. They each sat at comfortable conference tables facing a lawyer. Galo’s was a middle-aged man in a smart, but slightly mistailored suit, salt and pepper hair swept back loosely. He introduced himself as Darren Fleet, and seemed exhausted but determined. Lio’s was a sharp woman by the name of Maryl Hardy, no taller than Lio himself, even in heels, but commanded the room with a fiery energy. Her suit jacket and pencil skirt were pressed to perfection, but a long ponytail of curly hair draped over her shoulder belied a level of softness to her personality.

Each attorney placed a recorder on the table, went over the legalities of the interview, and began questioning.

“State your full name, please.”

**“Galo Thymos.”**

_"Lio Fotia”_

“What do you do?”

**“I’m a member of the Promepolis Fire Department’s Burning Rescue Team.”**

_“I’m- I was the leader of the Mad Burnish group and an activist for Burnish rights. I now help the Burning Rescue team with clean up and recovery of the city.”_

“When did you first become aware of Mr. Foresight?”

**“When he- when my house caught fire as a kid, I ran out and he was there.”**

_“Aware of him? As a kid. I heard on the news about him rescuing a boy from a fire. Turns out that boy was Galo.”_

“Mr. Thymos, I realize you’ve probably told this story a hundred times, but would you mind going over that incident with me?”

**“I’ve told** **_Kray’s_ ** **version a hundred times, yeah. But it’s time to tell** **_my_ ** **version, what really happened.”**

“Mr. Fotia, when you first heard about Mr. Foresight, was this before or after you were afflicted by the mutation?”

_“With all due respect, Ms. Hardy, most Burnish aren’t fond of the ‘mutation’ terminology. We refer to it as our Awakening. But to answer your question, it was before.”_

“My apologies. I’ll adjust my wording. Thank you. What was your first impression of Mr. Foresight?”

_“That something about him didn’t sit right with me. I was only nine or so. But I still knew there was something I didn’t like about him. My parents liked him, though. They thought he was a hero for saving Galo. I mean, don’t get me wrong, as a kid I was glad he saved Galo. But I guess, he just didn’t seem genuine. I didn’t have long to think about it, though. My Awakening was shortly after that.”_

“Can you tell me about that? Your awakening?”

And so the questioning continued for over two hours. Galo was finished first, and sat in the waiting area between the offices. As he dropped into a chair, he felt all the energy drain from his body. He’d managed to avoid crying during the interview, but he was sufficiently worn down. He fiddled with Darren Fleet’s business card, frowning at the idea of needing to go through more of these meetings, and frowning even harder at the idea of sitting at the witness stand, facing his former hero.

It was another hour before Lio finally emerged from the other office with Maryl Hardy. He looked almost as wrecked emotionally as Galo felt.

“Alright guys,” Maryl said as cheerily as she could, though it was obvious she was tired as well, “we need you two to fill out some paperwork, sign some releases, all standard procedures. Then we’ll get you out of here.”

She and Darren lead them to another office, one labelled with Maryl’s name, and sat them down in front of two large stacks of paperwork. An hour of signatures and explanation of legal jargon later, and Galo and Lio were leaving the courthouse.

“They kept you way longer than me,” Galo said as he stretched and drank in the sunlight, “what all did they ask you?”

Lio looked down at the pavement. “We had to talk about what it will take for me to avoid getting charged for all of my crimes as the leader of Mad Burnish. And she asked me about my Awakening.”

Galo was immediately overcome with curiosity. “Oh yeah! How _did_ that happen?”

“I’d rather not tell the whole story again, Galo. It’s not a happy memory.”

Galo immediately kicked himself. _Wow, way to be an asshole Galo. Obviously he’s not going to want to talk about something like that._ “Yeah, of course. Sorry.”

Lio opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by his stomach grumbling loud enough that Galo heard it. “Uh… Galo could we get food?”

“Hell yeah we can get food. I’m dying, myself.” He pulled on his biking jacket and helmet and handed the spare to Lio. “While we’re out shopping for you later, we should get you your own leather jacket!”

“Yeah,” Lio smiled as he sat behind Galo on the bike, not being shy about pulling himself up close and leaning into Galo’s back. “I’d really like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was looking around for any references in the movie or shorts to a person becoming Burnish being called an Awakening, as I've read a couple of different fics that use that term, and I can't find anything. So I guess we as a fandom have just decided to call it that? Love that. I'm about it.
> 
> Fun fact: Grow Into Love by Half Moon Run has been a big inspiration for this fic. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLxp3ODVk9w )
> 
> Sorry this took a while to get out. It's been a rough week for me.  
> Friendly reminder that Black lives matter! <3


	4. Breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating bumped up due to a slightly explicit depiction of masturbation. Nothing too serious. We're not there yet.

“Hey Galo?”

“Yeah?”

“How are we going to get all this back to your apartment?”

Galo stopped and looked at Lio. Both of them had a small handful of shopping bags of clothes for Lio. “What do you mean?”

Lio was a bit baffled as to why he needed to further explain. “Where are we going to put all the bags when we only have your bike?”

Galo thought for a long moment, the dots slowly connecting, “...oohh. Huh. I hadn’t thought about it.”

They stood in silent contemplation. After a moment, Galo perked up, “Oh! I’ll just order you a car and meet you at home.” He grinned and shuffled some bags around to pull out his phone.

While Galo fiddled with the ride app, Lio absently looked at the bags of clothes and body care stuff they’d bought. Galo had done most of the buying, as Lio wasn’t yet on the payroll and Ignis had been paying him what he could under the table. It had taken a fair amount of encouragement from Galo before Lio would loosen up enough to freely pick clothing he liked without fussing over the price tag.  _ ‘If you don’t start picking stuff and stop worrying about the money,’  _ Galo had said,  _ ‘I’m just going to buy everything you so much as look at.’  _

Lio’s resolve had faded when he’d caught sight of a rack of harem-style pants. He’d seen a few people wear pants like these and outwardly balked at how impractical they were, but internally he thought they must be the comfiest thing in the world. He’d always wanted to try them. His own wardrobe was meant exclusively for functionality, and his love of loose, flowing fabric was something you could only glean from the white blouse he typically wore under his jacket. He fingered through the rack looking at the various patterns. Most of them were simply too busy for his taste, but towards the back he spotted a deep blue pair with a simple geometric pattern. It had lots of small triangles.  _ Like the Promare.  _ He’d mused. The waistband was a wide strip of orange and pink patterned fabric, a bright contrast Lio particularly enjoyed. As he lingered on this pair of pants, Galo had come up behind him, “Whatcha lookin’ at?”

“I... love them.” Lio said quietly.

“Then they’re yours!” Galo grinned as he snagged them off the rack and added them to the quickly growing pile.

A couple hours, several outfits, and too many shampoo smell tests later, they had everything Lio could imagine he’d need for the rest of his life. He felt he should be ashamed of how much money Galo had spent on him, but the overzealous young man didn’t seem the least bit bothered. In fact, their escapades had seemed to brighten his mood after what Lio knew had to be a difficult morning.

It wasn’t long before a car pulled up to the curb. Loading bags into the car, Galo had a sudden realization, “Aw, shit. You go ahead, Lio. I just remembered I have to take care of something so I won’t be home right away, but I won’t be long, okay?” He turned and began jogging toward the parking lot where his bike was waiting before Lio had the chance to respond. 

“Huh,” Lio pondered, “wonder what he’s gotta do…”

* * *

Galo, satisfied that his errand had only taken an hour, smiled as he turned the key in his apartment door and stepped in. “Hey, I’m home!”

Lio was in the kitchen fussing over a pot of macaroni. He’d changed into some of his new clothes: the harem pants he’d fallen in love with and a burnt orange crop top that Galo was surprised Lio had taken an interest in.  _ “I’ve worn form fitting and functional clothes every day for years,”  _ He’d told Galo,  _ “You’re not the only one who would prefer to show some skin more often.”  _ His hair was pulled up in a small half ponytail. Immediately, Galo’s gaze was drawn to Lio’s lean stomach. He could just make out the faint outlines of his abs and, something he’d never noticed before, a light dusting of blonde hair trailing from his naval. All of the blood in Galo’s body immediately flooded his face.

“Oh, you’re back.” Lio looked frustrated, but the tension in his body eased slightly when he saw Galo. “Can you help me with this?” He motioned to the macaroni pot. His face was flush from standing over the hot steam.

Galo swallowed. At least half the blood in his face rushed to his groin. “Yeah, of course.” He kicked off his shoes and hung his jacket up by the door, trying his best to stifle the fluttering in his stomach. He came up behind Lio and inspected the macaroni, careful not to touch him for fear the contact might make him implode.

“It’s really dry.” Lio explained, frowning. “I haven’t cooked on a stove much, I don’t really know what I did wrong.”

Galo laughed, “Looks like you just cooked most of the moisture out. Turn the heat down to low and I’ll help ya.”

After a moment of stirring in fresh milk and cheese, the macaroni, while not stellar, was salvaged.

“Thanks for cooking, man!” Galo grinned as he spooned out portions for each of them. He tried to keep his tone light, but his body was no less tightly wound.

“Don’t patronize me.” Lio scowled, flopping onto the couch with his bowl rather than sitting at the table.

“What? I wasn’t, I mean it! The idea of cooking when I got home really bummed me out so I was just gonna order in again. But you totally had us covered.” Galo joined him on the couch and, without hesitation, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, Lio turned and swung his legs into Galo’s lap.

“Hm.” Lio frowned as he ate his macaroni.

Galo had no choice but to drape his arms over Lio’s legs as he ate. The fluttering in his stomach refused to settle.  _ He’s so… hot… like this.  _ Dinner conversation was minimal and focused mostly on work. Galo could only halfway pay attention. He could feel the curve of Lio’s calves against his lap. He finished his food and, while Lio was telling a story from before they met about Gueira and Meis fighting over the last available instant noodle cup, he tentatively placed a hand on one of Lio’s feet, tracing circles across the skin just above his toes. Lio either didn’t notice, or didn’t mind.

  
  


“Thank you,” Lio said as he finished his last bite of macaroni, “for everything today. It um- it means a lot to me.” His cheeks and ears went pink as he avoided direct eye contact.

Galo’s heart skipped across his chest. “It’s no problem at all, bud. I want you to feel at home.” 

Lio smiled at him, a soft, warm, genuine smile. 

With that, Galo’s willpower was finished. He abruptly stood, knocking Lio’s feet to the ground, and took a deep breath. “Shower time!!” He nearly shouted as he stormed down the hall.

“Oh-...kay?”  _ What’s his problem?  _ Lio frowned.

  
  


Galo was in the shower before the water was even finished warming up. He couldn’t get Lio out of his head. His smile, the way his hair was pulled back behind his ears, his taut but lean muscles, the weight of his legs in Galo’s lap. He wondered what Lio’s whole body weight would feel like in his lap. He gave up trying to will away his half erection, groaning in frustration as he took his cock in hand.

Lio gathered up the dishes and stowed them in the dishwasher for a later cycle. He looked over at the pile of shopping bags he’d sat in the living room and wondered where Galo planned on him keeping all his new stuff. More importantly, what was the mysterious errand he went on? And most importantly, why was he acting so weird when he got back? Lio frowned, frustrated with how out of the loop he was with Galo that day.

_ Get it together, Thymos. Now is  _ not  _ the time to get caught up in emotions. Jeez…  _ Galo sighed, grimacing at the mess he’d made of himself, and began rinsing himself off.  _ I can’t bring feelings into this right now. He’s attractive, that’s it. I don’t have time to feel any other way about him…  _ Increasingly frustrated with himself, he shut the water off and sighed. _ He said he likes me, though. There’s definitely something there.  _

When he finally finished his shower, threw on some sweatpants, and stepped back into the living room, he saw Lio was still on the couch looking through his phone. “Took you long enough.” He said, not looking up at first.

“Yeah, sorry… uh, I guess I felt extra… dirty?” Galo immediately regretted his wording.

Lio looked up and scoffed, cocking an eyebrow at him. “Right. Well there better be hot water left for me.” He got up, collected his new bathroom supplies, and took his turn in the shower.

While Lio was bathing, Galo gathered up the bags from their shopping and brought them to his room. He pulled open all the drawers of his large dresser and started condensing his clothes to one side. He didn’t own many clothes. He didn’t see the need when much of his life was spent in his firefighter’s uniform. Once half the dresser drawers were empty, he moved to the closet and made sure the couple of nice shirts he owned were pushed out of the way so Lio would have room to hang things. He contemplated starting to put things away for Lio, but thought better of it, as Lio might have his own way of doing things.

In the shower, Lio thought about their conversation that morning. How they’d both acknowledged there  _ was in fact _ an elephant in the room, but both chose to continue ignoring it in favor of more pressing matters. He wondered if that conversation had to do with why Galo was acting strangely. He felt incredibly comfortable around Galo. The idea that Galo might now be uncomfortable around  _ him _ bothered him. 

When Lio exited the bathroom with just a towel tied around his waist, realizing he’d failed to grab pyjamas, he saw Galo across the hall, sitting on the floor of the bedroom, folding laundry. As soon as Galo laid eyes on him, he turned the brightest shade of red Lio had ever seen on a human face.

“Uh- sorry, Galo. I forgot pyjamas. Um-”

“In the stack over there-” Galo said sharply, looking away from Lio and pointing to a freshly folded stack of new t-shirts and sweatpants Lio’d picked out to sleep in.

Lio quickly got dressed, not wanting to make the situation any more awkward than it already was. Fully clothed, he came up to stand by Galo, who was still holding the shirt he’d been folding when Lio entered. He’d frozen, as if making a single move would somehow hurt him. His eyes were fixed on the shirt in his lap.

Lio put his hand on Galo’s shoulder. Galo immediately tensed. “Hey, you okay?” Lio leaned down to look at him.

“Y-yeah!” Galo forced out. “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting um-” He went back to folding the shirt, but his hands were shaky and it ended up more of a wrinkled lump than a folded square. He abandoned his current train of thought in favor of changing the subject, “So, I emptied out the right side of the dresser for you! And I almost never use the closet, so you can use as much of that as you want!” It was clear he was trying very hard to sound like his normal, peppy self. But the flush didn’t fully leave Galo’s face for the rest of the evening.

After Lio had put away his new clothes, he settled into bed. As usual, Galo said he’d join him shortly after prepping the coffee maker. But instead of the various coffee prep sounds Lio had grown accustomed to in recent days, he heard only silence from the apartment. He tried not to think much of it when ten minutes passed without a peep from Galo. He considered getting up to check on him, but he was exhausted. Sleep took him before he could convince himself to leave the bed.

* * *

Out of necessity, Lio was a very light sleeper. So when a soft thump followed by a choked, sobbing sound cut through the fog of Lio’s dreams, he awoke immediately. Galo was not next to him, and the pillow Galo always used was gone. He looked at the clock by the bed. It was nearly four in the morning. Another sobbing sound. Lio got up and quietly crept to the end of the hall, peeking into the living room.

Galo was sitting on the couch in only his boxers. His head was ducked down between his knees, fingers knotted into the back of his mohawk. His knuckles were trembling from how hard he was gripping his hair. The missing pillow was on the floor across the room. It seemed Galo had thrown it.

Lio tiptoed into the living room, trying desperately not to freak out his friend. “Galo?”

Galo jolted upright, eyes wildly darting around the room, “What?! No! Leave me alone!” He shouted into the dark of the room.

Lio moved up to the couch and knelt down in front of him. “Galo, it’s me. What’s wrong?”

Galo didn’t make eye contact with him, instead continuing to tug at his mohawk, sobbing and hyperventilating. “I can’t- I can’t breathe, I-” 

Lio had seen this a few too many times with freshly awakened Burnish. He reached up and placed his hands on Galo’s, gently tugging on them in hopes of getting Galo to let go. “Galo, you’re having a panic attack. You need to slow your breathing.”

The slightest flicker of awareness flashed across Galo’s face. “I- I ca-, Lio, I-” 

“Shh- I know.” Lio kept his tone low and quiet. “Listen to my voice. Nod if you can hear me.”

Galo gave the slightest nod.

“Try to give me your hand. Just one.” Lio tugged a little harder on Galo’s hands. He allowed one to loosen its grip enough for Lio to gently pull it to him, pressing Galo’s shaking palm to his chest, the way he’d done with many frightened Burnish. “Good. Thank you, Galo. Now listen, try to match your breathing with mine. Can you do that for me?” He put a hand over Galo’s, holding it in place.

Galo pressed his hand firmly into Lio’s chest. The temptation to ball his fist into Lio’s shirt was strong. His fingers trembled. Lio’s chest rose slowly. Galo could feel Lio’s lungs blooming under his palm. He focussed on the sensation, screwing his eyes shut. He took a shaky breath in, trying to match Lio. It was nowhere near as deep. Lio exhaled, and Galo tried to follow suit. His breath came out in sobs.  _ Why can’t I do this? Why can’t I just breathe like he’s asking me to? What the fuck is wrong with me? I’m just being a burden. He’d be better off without me. I should’ve died. Kray should’ve killed me. I- _

“Good, Galo. Breathe in again, nice and slow.”

_ Why is he being so nice to me? He nearly died because of me. I’m worthless. _

“-and out. Just listen to my voice and feel my breath. In-”

Slowly, reality sharpened slightly in Galo’s mind.  _ I’m sweating. Why am I sweating? Where am I again? _

“-out. Good. Keep breathing. Can you open your eyes, for me?”

Slowly, slower than Lio was breathing, Galo cracked open his eyes. They were puffy and red, and Galo kept them locked on a spot on the floor.

“Good job, Galo. You’re doing great. Breathe in-” 

Lio’s voice was softer than Galo had ever heard it before. It reminded him of when Lio had tried to save Thyma. A fresh wave of guilt threatened to swallow him whole. New tears dripped down his face, pooling on the floor. “Lio, I’m- I’m so sorry. It’s all- my fault.”

Lio kept one hand over Galo’s on his chest and moved the other one to Galo’s cheek. “Shh- Galo, it’s alright. It’s not your fault.” Lio wasn’t certain what exactly Galo felt was his fault, but he was certain it wasn’t guilt based in reality. “Can you look at me, please?”

Slowly, painfully slowly, Galo lifted his head, embarrassed at the state he was in, but too tired and sad and scared to argue. He let Lio’s voice ground him, following instructions almost exclusively so that Lio would keep talking, keep praising him.

“Perfect.” Lio thumbed a tear away from Galo’s cheek. “Now, look around you. Tell me five things you can see.”

“What?” Galo was confused. His eyes couldn’t focus on any one thing. He just kept scanning the concerned expression on Lio’s face.

“Come on, Galo. You can do it. Tell me five things you can see.” Lio gently coaxed him, one hand still over Galo’s on his chest, the other still on Galo’s face, both holding him firmly. The points of contact helped him feel a little more real again. He let his eyes wander, landing on the pile of empty shopping bags in the corner of the living room.

“The uh- shopping bags.” He was already breathless. Naming more things seemed impossible.

“Perfect, keep going.”

The praise was good. He wanted to keep giving Lio reasons to praise him. “Umm- the bookcase? And the tv.”

“Good job, Galo. Don’t forget to breathe.” Lio pressed his hand into Galo’s as he breathed in deeply, prompting Galo to do the same. “Give me two more.”

Galo exhaled a little more calmly. He found himself staring at Lio through his tears. “You. And your pretty hair.”

Lio smiled, “I don’t know if those count as separate things, but I’ll let it slide this time.” 

Galo’s stomach turned.  _ I said something wrong. I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have said- _

Lio could see him beginning to spiral. He smoothed his hand across Galo’s forehead. “Galo, stay with me. Keep looking at me. Can you tell me four things you can feel?”

Galo tried desperately to find his focus. The steady thumping of Lio’s heart beneath his hand felt solid, real. “Your heartbeat.”

“Good, what else?”

“Your hand on my face.”

Lio stroked Galo’s cheek with his thumb. “Yeah, good, I’ve got you. Keep going.”

Galo took another shaky breath, finding a little more resolve. He focused on points of contact. “The floor under my feet. And the couch.”

“You’re doing great. Keep coming back to me. Three things you can hear.”

Galo closed his eyes, inhaled, and listened. “The air conditioner is running.” He said as he exhaled.

“Yeah. What else? You’re almost there.” Lio desperately wanted to get up and sit next to him. His feet hurt from crouching. But he knew how important it was to let Galo come down from this, and he feared moving at all would frighten him or make him feel less stable.

“There’s a-” Galo listened intently, “-an ambulance siren in the distance. And your voice. Your voice is good.”

“I’m glad.” Lio smiled. “What are two things you can smell?”

Galo was losing himself in the intimacy of Lio’s care. He leaned into his touch. The panic was a receding tide. He was now matching Lio’s breathing with only the occasional hiccup. Finally aware of how tightly he’d been gripping his hair with his free hand, he slowly released it and brought it to rest on the hand Lio held to his face. He pressed into it, inhaling deeply. “Your skin, I can smell your new soap.”

Lio was fully aware of how intimate they were being. He chose not to think too deeply about it. Getting galo stable was his first concern. “And?” He prompted.

Galo inhaled again, frowning this time, “I’m sweating. I can smell it.”

Lio did his best to stifle a laugh. “Excellent. Now, one taste. Imagine your favorite flavor. What is it?”

“Gingerbread, for sure.” Memories flooded Galo’s consciousness. He smiled sadly, locking eyes with Lio and finally looking mostly present and coherent. “It’s always been my favorite. My mom would make gingerbread cookies every year around the holidays. But then, one day, I had a really bad day at school and she said she’d make me anything I wanted to cheer me up. I asked for gingerbread cookies. Since then, she always made them for me when I was sad.”

“Good job, Galo. Welcome back.” Lio finally allowed himself to stand and move to the couch, though he kept one hand on Galo at all times, wanting to give him a constant point of contact.

“I’m sorry, Lio. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Galo looked away, face flush from crying and embarrassment. 

“There’s no need to apologize, Galo. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Lio sat close to Galo, letting their thighs touch. He rubbed circles on Galo’s back, forcing his focus on Galo’s face rather than the sensation of Galo’s skin beneath his hand. “I wake up when the wind blows too hard. Don’t worry about it.”

“But you had to take care of me while I was freaking out for no reason.”

“Galo, people don’t have panic attacks for no reason. Can I ask what you were doing?”

Galo was quiet for a long moment, weighing the decision to talk about himself. Finally, he decided it would be easier to be honest. “I had a nightmare… about Kray. I think-” He sighed, “I would rather not talk about it. But that’s what happened. I woke up in a panic.”

Lio squeezed his shoulder softly, hoping it conveyed his understanding. “We don’t have to talk about it. If you decide later you’d like to, I’ll be happy to listen.”

They were silent for a minute or so, Lio still rubbing circles along Galo’s shoulder blades. Eventually, he felt it was okay to ask, “Did you not feel comfortable sleeping in bed with me?” He hated how needy it sounded, but with how naturally Galo had enveloped Lio into his sleeping habits, it was strange and concerning for him to suddenly not want to sleep near him, especially considering their closeness the night before and their conversation the following morning.

Galo sighed again, heavier and more frustrated, “Yeah, I’m sorry, Lio. Something about you just hit me weird today.”

Lio leaned away, trying not to appear hurt, “I’m sorry, Galo. Was it something I said or did?”

“No no no!” Galo frantically tried to backpedal, “Sorry, that was the wrong way to say it. I just mean… Now that I know you’re dealing with weird feelings too, it’s harder not to notice things…” He looked away again, ears red, “Things I like about you.”

“...oh.”

“Because I guess I know now that eventually we’re going to have to talk about it, y’know? About how…” Galo trailed off, unsure of what exactly he was trying to say.

“About how we feel about each other?” Lio offered gently.

“...yeah.” Galo sighed.

“Do you want to do that? Despite the timing?”

“I… I don’t think I’m ready, Lio. I want to talk about it with you. I do. Because I think, when I can get my head straight, I think we could be really good together… whatever that looks like for us, y’know? But,” He scrubbed his hands across his face, “I can’t think of anything else besides work and Kray. Everything else is just a distraction.” Galo looked up at Lio, sad but determined, “I don’t want you to just be a distraction, Lio.”

“Galo…” Lio’s heart fluttered.

“I need to work through all this shit before…”

“Before anything else.” Lio finished for him, giving Galo a soft smile.

“Yeah.”

“I have things to work through, too. I don’t think it’s as obvious with me. I’ve trained myself to keep my feelings to myself as much as possible. But Galo, I…” He turned away from Galo for the first time that evening, losing himself in his own thoughts. “I still hear them. The screams of all the Burnish in those pods. I hear them every time I close my eyes.”

Galo pulled him into a strong hug. “Shit, I’m sorry, Lio. That’s awful.”

Lio let himself melt into Galo’s sweat-damp skin, his musk leveling his thoughts. “I’m sorry too, for what you’re going through.”

Galo pulled away and smiled. “Wanna do therapy?” He asked it the same way he asked if Lio wanted to get dinner.

Lio hadn’t even considered it. “Are there even any therapist offices left? Half the city is destroyed.”

“There should be some across town. We can look into it tomorrow after work.”

Lio thought for a moment. “I’ll do it if you will.”

Galo smiled and nodded, restrained from exhaustion but still undeniably himself. “Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm worried this chapter feels a lot longer than it actually is?? Sorry it took so long. I've had a lot going on.


	5. Confidentiality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gang Goes To Therapy
> 
> Galo and Lio have feelings and continue not to be frank with each other about those feelings.  
> This chapter is a couple of snapshots from the weeks following the last chapter. Next chapter will get back to a more concrete sense of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it's not clear, the "all dialog no description" sections are between the guys and their therapist.

“So, tell me about your relationship with Galo.”

“My _relationship…_ ”

“Yeah, you said the two of you live together, right? Are you close?”

“Well, sure. I mean, he saved my people. He saved _me._ ”

“Of course. But while, certainly, that’s meaningful and I do want us to talk about that at some point, that doesn’t mean you’re automatically close. Do you like living with him?”

“Yeah, I do. He’s good company. He’s easy to live with, he keeps his apartment clean, he gives me rides to the station. He’s easy to talk to. He knows what I’ve been through and he’s sensitive to how it’s affected me. Living with him has made this whole thing a lot easier to cope with, I think.”

“Do you talk often about what happened, and about your life?”

“Not every day. But we don’t usually shy away from it when it comes up. I think we’ve been burned out on talking about it lately because of dealing with lawyers.”

“That’s very understandable. What do the two of you normally talk about when it’s not that?”

“Uhh- work, mostly. Or whatever matoi gear ideas he’s thinking about lately. Sometimes we talk about our earlier lives. It’s a little tense lately, there’s a lot that needs to be said that we agreed not to talk about until we’d sorted out our experiences with Kray and the Parnasus.”

“Like what?”

“I’m pretty sure he has feelings for me.”

“Oh?”

“And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t suspect myself of feeling the same for him.”

“But the two of you don’t want to talk about it yet.”

“Well, we do… I think. But I think we just know that dealing with complex feelings like that will only make things harder when we’re dealing with so much already.”

“Do you think it’s possible that getting those feelings out in the open, and handling them, might take away some of the stress you’re feeling?”

“...”

“Because right now, it’s just one more thing hanging over your heads, right?”

“I told him I’m happy to talk about it whenever he wants to. He just says he’s not ready yet. I know… I know it would help, but I don’t want to force him if he’s not ready.”

“That’s admirable of you.”

“I guess so…”

“What do you think it is that stops him from talking to you about his feelings?”

“I think he’s really overwhelmed. I know that… he blames himself for a lot of what’s happened. I think it’s just a lot of feelings. I think maybe he doesn’t know what to do with them all.”

“And how has avoiding the topic affected you?”

“Ah-...um… hmm…”

* * *

Galo burst through the doors to the station absolutely beaming. It was Burning Rescue’s first fire alarm since the Parnasus and everyone except Galo returned looking exhausted. Lio, Gueira, and Meis had stayed behind, thanks to their complete lack of training.

Galo all but howled as he entered the common area where Lio and his companions were going over paperwork. “H’oh man! What a blaze!” He shouted to no one in particular, “I forgot how good it feels to do a good old fashioned fire rescue. I’ve missed that.” He joined Lio at the large dining table covered in papers and began regaling Lio, Gueira, and Meis with the full recount of the incident while the rest of Burning Rescue hit the showers.

Lio found himself only half listening to Galo’s story. There was a thin layer of ash laced into his mohawk and along his thick forearms. Sweat was drying across his face and it glued his shirt to the muscles of his chest like a second skin. As he excitedly gestured through his story, arms flying wildly with excitement, Lio found himself swimming in the thick, sweet, musk of the man. Had it just been pure body odor, it would’ve likely been unpleasant, but instead it was a deeply complex scent; smoke, sweat, woody cologne, deodorant, and something else, something he couldn’t quite place. 

The brightness in Galo’s eyes flared in a way that Lio hadn’t seen in weeks. Galo smiled wider and laughed easier. For the first time since the Parnasus, the weight on Galo’s shoulders seemed to lift, even if it was only for a few moments. Galo’s lighthearted mood was infectious in a way that Lio loved. He drank in the joy radiating from Galo without much thought to what was being said.

The longing Lio had made a habit of ignoring crawled up Lio’s heart and into his throat. It was a deep, visceral desire. For just a moment, he indulged the feelings with active consideration. He didn’t just desire. Lio _ached._ He _yearned._

When the desire to reach out and grab one of Galo’s excitable hands and plant a kiss into his palm became nearly too great to bear, Lio took a deep breath, gently folded his feelings up and tucked them into the back corner of his mind once more.

He pulled out his phone and opened his notes app to a file named “To Galo”.

_‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you smile like this. It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.’_

It was the 12th entry.

* * *

“How have you been feeling lately, Galo?”

“I’ve been… okay. Yeah. Okay.”

“Working hard, I’d bet?”

“Sure, I mean, work’s been difficult, physically. I like it, though. Most of the time I can kind of turn my head off and just move. It’s a nice break.”

“A break from what?”

“The lawyers, the meetings, talking about Kray, the Parnasus, my parents.”

“I can imagine that must be very difficult, recounting those traumas with what are essentially strangers.”

“Yeah. And then I go home, and Lio’s there, which is great, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad he’s there, but it’s hard. Being around Lio is… hard…”

“Why so?”

“I just feel like… he’s expecting me to talk. I know he knows I like him. Like, _like him,_ like him. I know he wants to talk about it. But I just can’t right now. I can’t deal with that kind of… vulnerability. I have to be strong right now. I have to fix everything I messed up.”

“Tell me about what living with Lio looks like. How do the two of you interact with each other?”

“I mean, we do practically everything together. He rides to work with me on my bike, we eat together, when we get home, we usually cook together. We even sleep together- not sexually! We just share my bed. I don’t want him feeling like he has to sleep on the couch, and I don’t think he’d take the bed from me. We’ve talked about it, and we both like the arrangement.”

“Sharing a bed is a pretty intimate experience, in itself.”

“Yeah, I guess so. For the first week or so, I always made sure to sleep away from him, but then once he thought I was asleep, he’d curl up next to me. I brought it up once and eventually I think we just figured out it’s okay for us to want to be close, y’know? To like… snuggle… I guess? I think it helps us both feel a little less scared of everything.”

“Sure, of course.”

“I mean, I know that’s probably really weird. We’re friends, right? Friends don’t normally cuddle up in a shared bed.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“...”

“Galo, and feel free to correct me if I’m totally on the wrong page here, but it would seem to me that with how much you share with Lio, eating and traveling together, sharing a home and a bed, he knows your story and you know his, it sounds like the two of you are regularly very vulnerable with each other, even if you don’t vocalize it.”

“...Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“So, when you are readily willing to be so vulnerable in so many aspects of your life with him, what do you think it is that stops you from feeling like you can be vulnerable with him about your feelings?”

“...”

“...”

“I think… I think I’m scared.”

“...of?”

“I think I’m scared I’ll ruin Lio the way I ruined Promepolis, the way I ruined the Burnish. I guess I feel like, if I don’t talk about it, if I just keep things the way they are, keep doing what we’re both comfortable with, keep making sure he feels safe and cared for and stuff, maybe I won’t ruin it.”

“Do you really feel like you were the one to ‘ruin’ Promepolis and the Burnish? Your meetings with lawyers have been about working to convict Kray, not yourself, right?”

“Well, yeah… but it’s my fault Kray got so powerful. He used me to get popular and make people like him.”

“So, let me ask you something, Galo. Kray was the governor, whenever he wanted something anti-burnish to be passed into law, he had to sign off on it, right? He had to sign the paperwork to make that law happen, correct?”

“Sure, yeah. But he wouldn’t have become governor if it weren’t for me.”

“Follow me on this, Galo, we’ll get there.”

“...”

“Kray had to sign all those laws. Is the pen he used to sign them to blame for the suffering those laws caused?”

“No, of course not.”

“It’s just a tool he used to put action to the desires he already had, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Your presence didn’t give him desires he didn’t already have. He took advantage of you to make those desires a reality.”

“I guess…”

“Do you think Kray was a good person before he met you?”

“...”

“...”

“No, I don’t think so. I think he had to have been a pretty shitty person to begin with to do what he did to me.”

“Do you think he would have found a way to make his desires a reality even if you were never a part of his life?”

“Probably.”

“So then, is it fair to blame yourself for what happened to Promepolis and to the Burnish?”

“...”

“...”

“I guess not… But it’s hard to get rid of those feelings.”

“Absolutely. Just because you shouldn’t feel guilty for what happened doesn’t make the guilt you feel less real. Feelings can be real and incorrect at the same time. The important thing is processing those feelings, acknowledging them for what they are, and teaching yourself how to replace those negative thought patterns with positive affirmations.”

“That sounds hard.”

“It can be, but I think you’ll find it’s worth it.”

* * *

“Hey Lio!”

“Hey. How was your errand?”

“Close your eyes and put out your hands.”

“What?”

A full month had passed. They’d begun seeing a therapist that was willing to schedule them back to back so they only had to make one trip across town a week. The air in the apartment was gradually lightening, but the blanket of expectation still lingered over them.

Galo had just returned to the apartment after getting a phone call and abruptly bolting out the door, telling Lio he had an important errand to run. He had reentered the apartment half an hour later carrying a large, flat box.

“Just do it!” He was grinning ear to ear.

“...okay.” Lio put down the book he’d been skimming on the couch, closed his eyes, and held out his hands, expecting Galo to drop the contents of the box into his hands.

Instead, Galo simply put the whole box in Lio’s arms. “Okay, open your eyes!”

Lio opened his eyes, noting that nothing had changed about the box except that it was now in his lap. If he hadn’t had several weeks to become accustomed to Galo’s particular brand of absent mindedness and easy humor, Lio might have been annoyed. Instead, he was curious and amused, a frequent combination of feelings for him these days. “Galo, this is just the box you were carrying…”

“Open it!” Galo stood triumphant, hands on his hips, as if he’d just rescued a school of orphaned kittens from a burning building.

Lio carefully lifted the lid on the plain white box. Inside, wrapped in bright pink tissue paper, was a leather jacket. The memory of Galo casually mentioning wanting to get him one flashed in Lio’s mind. He hadn’t given the comment a second thought. He gingerly lifted it from the box. It was a traditional black biker jacket, rather than a brown racer jacket like Galo’s. One of the lapels was embroidered with a small flame bordered in a pink triangle. “Galo, this is... “

“Look at the back!” Galo said excitedly before Lio could find his words.

Lio turned it around and couldn’t hold back his grin, “I love it.”

Across the shoulders, in large, bold, white letters was the title ‘BOSS’. (Lio’s cheeks grew warm, as always when Galo called him ‘boss.’) Beneath that was a much larger version of the front lapel design, covering nearly the entire back of the jacket. The embroidery was tight, bright, and clean. It was stunning.

“Remember when we went shopping for you and I bailed at the last second to go do something? I was tracking down a buddy of mine who does this kind of stuff.” Galo was clearly very pleased with himself.

Lio stood and pulled the jacket on. It fit perfectly. Snug, with a little give. He tucked his hands in the pockets, which he noticed were lined with white satin, an interesting detail. “Galo this is… this is awesome! Thank you!”

Galo pulled him into a tight hug. “Now I don’t have to worry so much about what could happen if we get into an accident on the bike. I’ve been so scared that you’ll get hurt because you’re not wearing any protection besides the helmet.”

The realization that Galo had been worried about him riding the bike left Lio feeling guilty. “Oh- I’m sorry. If you didn’t want me to ride with you, I could’ve always gotten a ride from someone else, or even just walked. The station isn’t that far.” Tucking his face into Galo’s shoulder, he allowed himself the briefest moment of truly savoring the faint cologne on Galo’s skin.

Galo only hugged him tighter. “Are you kidding? And miss out on you holding on to me super tight while I drive us to work? No way! I was always just extra careful. Now I only have to be the _normal_ amount of careful!” He pulled away and grinned at Lio, who was clearly embarrassed at the comment on his habit of wrapping himself around Galo’s waist as tight as possible when they traveled. 

But at the sight of the flush creeping into Lio’s face, Galo only laughed. “You don’t have to stop doing that, by the way. I really like it.”

  
  


That evening, while Galo was occupied with cooking dinner, Lio sat on the couch, pulled out his phone, and opened the notes app. He glanced at his jacket, now hanging by the door next to Galo’s, and added to the list titled ‘To Galo’.

_‘I like seeing our jackets hanging together. It feels right.’_

It was the 25th entry.


	6. Unofferable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day? What a deal! Hopefully this makes up for how long it's normally taken me to get chapters done.

“Boss, you’re here. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Huh? Yeah, of course.”

Gueira was at the station far earlier than is normal for him. Lio and Galo had only arrived just a few minutes before. They were lounging in the common area, Lio going through paperwork on setting up temporary housing for people displaced by the Parnasus crash, and Galo scrolling through his phone, sipping his second cup of coffee. When Gueira noticed Galo sitting nearby, he froze.

“Uhh…”

Lio noticed the hesitation. “Oh, we can talk alone if you’d rather not have Galo around.”

Galo was not the least bit offended. He knew Gueira and Meis were much closer to Lio than he was, and he knew they’d been through more together than he could realistically conceptualize. It didn’t stop him from being curious, though. He stood to leave.

“Nah, that’s okay,” Gueira said after a moment of thought, “Galo can stay as long as he’ll keep his mouth shut.” He shot Galo a particularly intense stare.

“You got it, Boss Jr.” Galo made the understood motion of ‘zipping his lips’ and sat back down, doing his best to hide how curious he was. Gueira rarely spoke to him, Meis even less so. It wasn’t that they didn’t like each other. In fact, when they did speak, they were quite friendly together. Galo just assumed the two Mad Burnish generals were private people.

Gueira rolled his eyes at the nickname and sat in a free chair, facing Lio.

“What’s on your mind?” Lio had sat aside his paperwork and was giving Gueira his undivided attention.

“Well,” Gueira shifted in his seat, wringing his hands, “It’s about Meis.”

Lio was out of his seat, looking ready to fight, “What? Is he alright?”

“Yeah, Boss! He’s fine! Cool it… jeez…” Gueira waved his hands, trying to calm Lio down. He rolled his eyes, though he knew he’d have had a similar reaction if roles were reversed.

Lio slowly sat back down. “So what is it?” He said it carefully, as if he was still expecting to need to rescue Meis from an unseen assailant.

“So we’ve been living together for a while, right? With Varys and Remi.” He went back to wringing his hands together.

“Yeah…?” Lio was unsure of where this was going. Had they had a falling out? Did one of them need to move out?

Galo sat quietly sipping his coffee, trying not to appear as on the edge of his seat as he was.

“Well, y’know we’ve been sharing the same room, which is fine and all, and we’ve been sleeping on a couple of twin mattresses we found at a thrift store. And well, we were out checking out some shops that had opened back up the other day. And we walk by this nice bed, like a king sized one, with a nice frame, and Meis just looks over at me and goes ‘hey we should get this bed.’” Gueira’s words came out in a tumble, with barely a pause for air. “And I said ‘dude, we don’t have room for two king beds’ and he said ‘no you idiot, we just get one and share it!’”

Lio had a suspicion where this was going. “Okay?”

“It’s only one bed, Boss!”

“You two have shared sleeping arrangements plenty of times.”

“Yeah, but never an actual, nice, fancy bed!”

“So tell him you don’t want to.”

“That’s the thing, Boss. I do. I just…”

Lio smiled, a certain fondness to it, “It means something, right?” He understood. Permanence was hard for people like them.

Gueira’s face flushed a deep red, “Y-yeah, I guess. He’s… well he’s kind of the only person in the world I actually care about, y’know? Aside from you, of course. And I mean, I guess I’m just worried that sharing a bed doesn’t mean the same thing to him as it does to me, y’know?” His legs were bouncing rapidly, fingers fiddling with the ends of his jacket sleeves.

Before he could give it a second thought, Galo interjected, “Me and Lio share my bed.”

They both turned and looked at him, Gueira shocked, Lio mortified.

“Y-you do?” Gueira looked back and forth between them. “Are you guys… y’know…”

“We haven’t talked about it.” Lio said firmly, shooting a scathing glance at Galo. “But yes, we’ve shared a bed pretty much since the beginning.”

“Yeah,” Galo said, seemingly unaware of Lio’s frustration, “We snuggle up together and everything.”

“Galo, I swear to god I will kill you.” Lio practically growled at him through gritted teeth. This information given freely did absolutely nothing good for his authoritative reputation.

“What? He’s nervous about sharing a bed with Meis, I’m letting him know it’s all cool and really not a big deal. We do it all the time.” Galo shrugged, completely unfazed by Lio’s threats. “Besides, king beds are killer. I wish we had one, honestly.”

Lio felt his ears go hot at the use of ‘we’ as if he was part owner of the bed.

“Wait,” Gueira was clearly confused, “you guys snuggle, but you haven’t talked about if you’re dating?”

“It’s complicated, Gueira.” Lio’s tone was one of finality, leaving no room to challenge.

“...right.” Gueira was not convinced, but chose not to press the issue. “So, do you think Meis and I are on the same page? Y’know, about sharing a bed?”

“You realize you’re asking  _ me _ for relationship advice, right?” Lio had had exactly zero long term and truly meaningful relationships in his life and Gueira knew that.

“We’re not in a relationship!” Gueira shot back, “It’s just… you’re the one who knows him best.”

“No I’m not. Gueira, you know Meis far better than I or anyone else in the world does. The two of you operate on a level together that’s different from everyone else around you. If it feels right to you, the two of you are probably on the same page. Just talk to him.” Lio smiled again. He was happy to see Gueira and Meis were finally taking time for each other. The chemistry between them was tangible, but their lives had never allowed for the exploration of feelings. He was glad to see them taking the opportunity.

But then, Gueira surprised him.

“Do you… do you think it’s okay, Boss? For me and Meis to… y’know, talk about it? Maybe… I dunno,  _ be  _ something? Together?” His head was low and his voice was quiet, a tender softness Lio rarely heard him use.

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

“We’ve just… we’ve done some bad shit, Boss. Sometimes I think maybe we don’t deserve to be happy.”

Lio’s heart snapped. “What? Gueira, look at me.”

Gueira looked up, only barely meeting Lio’s eyes. It was enough for Lio. “Gueira, of everyone on this planet, you and Meis are the two people who deserve happiness the most. Do not ever question that.”

Gueira looked away, mulling over Lio’s words, uncertain.

“That’s an order.” Lio added firmly.

Gueira’s head snapped up. “Yes, sir.” He replied almost automatically. He stood up, shuffling back and forth on his feet, clearly looking for more words.

“Um… thanks, Boss.”

“You know you don’t have to call me that anymore, right?” Lio offered.

“Not according to your new jacket.” Gueira grinned. “I saw it in the locker room the other day. It suits you.”

Lio smiled and glanced at Galo, who had finished his coffee. Their eyes briefly met and Galo looked away, cheeks red. “Yeah,” Lio agreed, “I suppose it does.”

_ ‘Sometimes you’re a real pain in the ass, you know that? I can’t even be mad about it because it’s somehow always helpful. It’s endearing and infuriating and I love it about you.’ _

Entry 28.

* * *

Two months had passed since the Parnasus incident. A month and half since Galo and Lio had begun therapy. They’d each been to several meetings with lawyers, giving statements, submitting evidence, doing their part. Ignis was understanding, but Galo was never any less upset when he had to ask for time off. It was becoming a weekly ordeal, sometimes for only a few minutes at a time, sometimes for the better part of the day.

So Galo was not surprised when his phone rang in the middle of lunch in the common area one afternoon and saw the number he’d saved as “UUUGH” on his screen. He groaned. Lio knew who it was without asking. He was thankful he and Galo were the only ones present at the moment.

“Yeah?” Galo asked into the phone, clearly already done with the conversation before it started.

This time, Lio wasn’t quite close enough to hear what was being said.

“Yeah I got a minute, what’s up? -- Oh shit, really? -- That soon, huh?”

Lio’s interest was piqued.

“Yeah, he’s right here, I’ll tell him. -- Right, yeah. We’ll see you next week. -- Thanks Darren. -- See ya.” Galon hung up the phone and looked at Lio, his expression a mix of nervous and surprised.

“What is it, Galo?”

“The court date’s been set.”

The wind was knocked out of Lio’s lungs. “...when is it?”

“Next month, the 15th.” Galo sighed.

“That’s not even three weeks from now!” Lio was taken aback at how little time they had left to prepare.

“Yeah, I know.” Galo groaned and ruffled his fingers through his hair.

“I guess that’s good though, right?” Lio offered, “It’ll be over soon.”

“Yeah, I’m just not looking forward to testifying.” Galo sighed once more, the weight on his shoulders seeming to triple with the addition of the news.

* * *

That evening, while Galo cooked dinner, Lio found himself reading through his note labeled ‘To Galo.’ He was up to 30 entries of things he wanted to say to Galo, but couldn’t until they got their feelings out in the open. He wondered how long it would be when they finally got around to it. He scrolled to the bottom and added a line.

_ ‘I can’t wait until I don’t have to have this list and I can just say everythi- _

“Whatcha doin?”

Lio nearly jumped out of his skin. “Galo! What the fuck!” He scrambled to lock his phone.

Galo was leaning over the couch. He hadn’t been reaching to see what Lio was typing, but he was definitely too close.

“Ooh I think I saw my name on there.. What were you writing?” He smiled, sly and curious.

Lio’s face went hot. “It’s none of your business.”

Galo frowned, “It is if it’s about me, though…”

“It’s not your business until I say it is.”

“What?” Galo was clearly frustrated now, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t you have better things to do than prying into my activities? I think the food’s burning.” Lio pocketed his phone and got up to retreat to… somewhere other than here. Galo, however, blocked his way.

“Nah, the heat’s off. What’s your deal, Lio? You never keep secrets from me.”

“It’s not important,” he said, trying to sidestep Galo and failing miserably.

“If it’s not important then tell me.” Galo’s hands were on his hips now, and oven mit still on one.

“I don’t want to.”

“Why not?”

“It’s personal.”

“But it had my name on it.”

“Yes it did.”

“So why can’t I know?”

Lio knew there was nowhere in the house he could go to escape Galo, and he wouldn’t put it past the man to follow him if he tried to leave the apartment. His resolve was thinning fast.

“ _ Because,  _ Galo, it’s for when you’re ready to talk about your feelings.” It came out with more venom than Lio intended.

Galo looked hurt. “...what? What is it?”

“Are you ready to talk?”

“I-... I don’t know yet…”

“Then I’m not telling you.” 

Galo’s hurt turned to genuine anger, “That doesn’t make any sense, Lio! What can you tell me then that you can’t tell me now? Why are you keeping secrets from me?”

“I’m not keeping secrets, you idiot! I’m just saving it for when you’re ready. You’ll get to see it, just not right now.” Lio was growing entirely too frustrated with Galo. He was tempted to force the man out of his way so he could at least put some distance between them.

“A secret for later is still a secret, Lio! Why can’t you trust me?”

“It’s not about trust! Now’s just not the time for it!”

“Why not?!”

Lio’s patience ran out. “Because you’re still too scared to admit you love me!”

Galo froze.

Lio immediately regretted opening his mouth.

“Galo, I- I’m sorry… that-”

“No. You’re right.” He took off his oven mitt, laid it on the counter, grabbed his jacket and helmet, and was out the door before Lio could find his words.

* * *

In half an hour, Galo found himself at the frozen lake. At some point, the computer that made up Dr. Prometh must have refilled the water. It was frozen over again, but not as thick. Galo sat by the edge and looked at his reflection. 

“Why can’t I just say it?” He felt like he was asking the lake. “I know how I feel. He knows how I feel. Why can’t I just say it out loud so we can work it out?”

He laid back into the damp grass and watched the sunset through the needles of the pine trees.

* * *

Lio sat back on the couch, re-reading the list over and over. He wondered if the right time to share it with Galo would ever come now. After mulling it over for what felt like an eternity, he added a line to the top of the list.

* * *

Galo’s phone pinged. It was a message from Lio. He opened it to find a link to a file titled ‘To Galo.’

“...this must be what he was hiding.” He opened it.

_ Galo, I’m sorry for what I said. This is a list I’ve been keeping of things I’ve wanted to say to you over these last few weeks, but felt like I couldn’t until we talked about things. I didn’t want to cause you any stress or put any pressure on you to talk when you weren’t ready, so instead of saying what I wanted out loud, I wrote it here. _

  1. _I love sleeping with you. You make me feel safe._
  2. Sometimes you talk about matoi in your sleep. It’s adorable.
  3. I hope you’re doing better after that panic attack. I’m worried about you.
  4. Your shift was really long today. I missed you.
  5. Your cologne always smells amazing.
  6. I’m sorry things are hard right now. You’re so strong.
  7. I like that you sing while you cook. You have a nice singing voice.
  8. Showering immediately after you always feels like I’m doing something I shouldn’t be. You were just there, naked.
  9. You’ve been really down lately. I wish I knew how to help.
  10. Sometimes I wish I could run my fingers along the burns on your arm. I wonder how you got them.
  11. The fire alarm went off for the first time since the Parnasus. I hope you’re safe out there.
  12. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you smile like this. It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.
  13. You’ve been lighter on your feet lately, so I have been, too.
  14. I really wanted to kiss you this morning.
  15. I made you laugh earlier. It was the highlight of my day.
  16. Today was hard for both of us. I’m glad neither of us are alone tonight.
  17. There’s a really nice shirt in your closet that I think you would look amazing in. You should wear it sometime.
  18. There was something in your eyes today. The way you looked at me made my skin hot. I want you.
  19. I woke up this morning to you jabbing me with some really intense morning wood. You’re not helping me in my endeavor to hold back how badly I’ve been wanting you lately.
  20. I caved and spent half my shower touching myself while I thought of you.
  21. Today sucks. I can’t wait to go home with you tonight.
  22. I missed you today.
  23. I wish there was a way to convince you it’s safe to talk to me, that I’m not going anywhere.
  24. This jacket is the best gift I’ve ever been given. You’re incredible.
  25. I like seeing our jackets hanging together. It feels right.
  26. You’re stunning when you first get out of the shower.
  27. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever get tired of living and working with you. I don;t think I will, honestly.
  28. Sometimes you’re a real pain in the ass, you know that? I can’t even be mad about it because it’s somehow always helpful. It’s endearing and infuriating and I love it about you.’
  29. You would’ve made a really incredible Burnish.
  30. I really wanted to hold your hand today.
  31. I can’t wait until I don’t have to have this list and I can just say everything I think of when I look at you.



* * *

When Galo opened the door to the apartment, he found Lio was putting dishes in the dishwasher. Dinner was neatly packed into tupperware on the counter. He turned when Galo entered. “Oh… you’re back.” He said sheepishly. He noticed the fresh tear tracks on Galo’s cheeks, and Lio was certain he’d ruined everything.

Galo closed the distance between them, dropping his helmet to the floor and not bothering to remove his jacket. He wrapped himself around Lio and pulled him into a tight hug, ducking his head into Lio’s neck and shoulder. Without hesitation, the dam inside his heart seemed to open and he was immediately sobbing into Lio’s shirt. 

“I- I’m so sorry, Lio -- I’m sorry I haven’t said anything. I love you, I do. It’s just been so hard. I’ve been scared. I’m scared I’m not good enough for you.” He barely got the words out around the choked sobs.

Lio rubbed circles on his back. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I’m sorry for getting angry. I love you too.”


	7. Negotiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief pit-stop in Gueira/Meis Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's check on the Mad Burnish Generals, shall we?
> 
> I apologize for the short chapter after such a long wait. But the next one is in the works!

Varys fumbled at the door, large fingers struggling with the tiny ring of too many keys.

“Remi, the number of keys on this ring is ridiculous.”

“Well, it’s the house key, keys to the station, my car keys, your spare car keys, keys to our lockers, Aina gave me the spare key to her house in case of emergency-”

“I know  _ why  _ you have so many keys. I just don’t like it.” 

Behind them, Gueira and Meis snickered. This was a dance they watched take place between Remi and Varys daily. There was a constant, though gentle, fuss; One Gueira and Meis, after weeks of watching, understood to never be serious, but instead was their sly and lighthearted way of getting under each other’s skin. 

Gueira had on occasion caught their housemates whispering intimately to each other, or saw a hand linger on a lower back for a moment. Once, he saw Varys come up behind Remi while he was washing dishes, lean down, and gently nuzzle into Remi’s neck. There was a quiet comfort and familiarity between them that Gueira was deeply jealous of. It was something he very nearly had. He and Meis were comfortable together. So much so that being apart felt unnatural. The two of them had woken up side by side so often, Gueira no longer remembered what it was like for Meis not to be there. He understood Meis’ emotions and mannerisms to the point that he could sense even the slightest trouble in his friend’s mind. He knew Meis knew the same of him. But Gueira was always scared to take the extra step, to cross that thin line in the sand that separated them from friends to… ‘ _ Something else,’ _ Gueira thought.

After a moment, Varys finally managed to get the door open. As they entered, Gueira shot a look to Meis, one that Meis knew to mean  _ let’s talk. _

The short walk from the front door to the room he shared with Meis felt, to Gueira, like a thousand-mile trek. His mind swam with doubts,  _ ‘What if he doesn’t feel the same? What if I ruin our friendship? What if he thinks I’m disgusting and never wants to talk to me again? What if-’ _ Gueira could feel Meis’ gaze on him as he led them to the spare bedroom, ‘ _ what if I’ve been wrong about Meis this whole time?’ _

Meis shut the door behind them. “What’s up?”

Gueira looked around the room nervously. The twin mattresses on opposite sides of the room, the old footlockers from Burning Rescue that Ignis had given them to hold their few belongings, the small table and fold-out chairs they played cards at in the quiet evenings after dinner. He wondered what the room would look like if they got that king-sized bed. He wondered what it would look like if he scared Meis off and there was only his one twin mattress left in the room.

“Um-” He glanced at Meis, who now looked concerned, clearly aware that something was bothering him. “Can uh-... can we sit? ...And talk?” He sat on the edge of his mattress.

Meis took his spot on his own mattress. “Yeah, always. What’s going on?” He leaned back on his elbows, long legs stretched out across the carpeted floor. Gueira looked at the slender ankles peeking out from the hems of Meis’ jeans. He knew if he stretched out his own legs, he could slot their ankles together. He wondered what Meis reaction would be.

“Meis, I- um… I was thinking about what you said… about the bed?” He kept his eyes down.

“Oh, yeah! It’d be nice, right? A nice, big bed we can spread out in?” He grinned.

Gueira glanced up at Meis, taking in his wide smile and silky hair pouring over his shoulders.  _ ‘He’s always been so… beautiful…’  _ He sighed.

“Meis, can I ask you something? ...Something kind of serious… and important?” Gueira felt his ears warming up.

Meis’ smile disappeared. “Of course…” He sat up, fully focussed on his companion.

Gueira looked away again, unwilling to make eye contact. “How… do you feel about me?”

“Huh? What kind of question is that?” Meis sounded genuinely confused.

Gueira looked up and their eyes met just briefly. He said nothing.

Meis raised his eyebrows, “Oh, shit… you’re serious.”

“I mean... Yeah…” Now, Gueira was confused as well.

Meis sighed and looked away. “Shit, you’re gonna make me say it, huh?”

“What?”

Meis looked annoyed. “That I love you.”

Gueira was certain all the blood in the world teleported into his face. “You… what?”

“I love you, you jackass. I have for years. I assumed you loved me back. I thought it was just understood.” The annoyance in Meis’ voice was still present, but he smiled.

“Of course I love you back,” Gueira responded hurriedly, as if a lack of response would cause Meis to vanish in front of him. “I just… wait, what  _ kind _ of love do you mean?”

Meis raised an eyebrow. “What kind of love do  _ you _ mean?”

“I asked you first!” Gueira growled at him.

“The  _ in love with you _ kind, fluffbrain.” As he turned away, embarrassed, Gueira saw Meis’ cheeks were flushed a deep red, clear as daylight on his pale complexion.

“Wh-... why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“I didn’t think it needed to be said. I thought you knew.”

“How could I know if you never acted on it?”

“When would I have had the chance? We’ve been on the run for years.”

“Well shit, Meis, you could’ve kissed me or something!” Gueira was suddenly deeply frustrated with the idea that perhaps they could have acted on their feelings much sooner.

“I didn’t think you were the type. You don’t like being touched.”

“Huh?”

“You think I don’t notice how you flinch every time someone touches you? How you always skirt the edges of crowds? How the only time you actively touch others is when you absolutely have to? Why do you think I made sure Thyma rode back to the refugees with me instead of you?”

“I figured you liked her!”

“No, you dipshit! I knew you’d hate having her hold onto you.”

Gueira thought back on his time with the Burnish, remembering several instances of Meis volunteering to take on tasks that required physical contact with people when Lio had asked Gueira to do them. “I didn’t… I didn't know you knew.”

“Of course I know, Gueira. I know you better than anyone.”

They were quiet for a long moment.

“I don’t  _ always _ hate touching,” Gueira said, and carefully stretched his legs out, slotting his ankles between Meis’, “I guess I just like to be the one to instigate it.”

Meis withheld the temptation to touch his ankles to Gueira’s. “Y’know if you ever wanna talk about it, you can.” When Gueira gave him an odd look, he elaborated, “Like, about why you don’t like being touched. You can talk about it with me, if you ever want to.”

“Yeah… I know.” He’d never thought about talking through his past with anyone, though he knew if he ever were to, it’d be with Meis.

“So you really didn’t know how I felt about you?” Meis asked quietly.

“I mean, I  _ hoped. _ And I knew we were close. Closer than most people. I guess I just never really thought very far ahead- never had a reason to, or felt like it was safe.”

“Yeah.”

Another pregnant pause.

Meis leaned back on his elbows again, “Well, it’s safe, now.”

Gueira looked at Meis, the lythe curve of his spine, the hint of skin peeking out from the edge of his shirt, “Yeah,” he swallowed, “I guess it is.”

“Until I know your limitations on touching, Gueira, I’m never gonna be the one to make the first move. If you want something, you’ll have to ask,” Meis smiled slyly, “or come get it, yourself.” His voice was venom in cream, sweet and deadly. Not unlike how Gueira had heard Meis speak to opponents he knew he had the best of.

_ ‘Appropriate, honestly.’  _ Gueira suddenly felt the heady desire of years of unacknowledged longing. He stood and crossed the room, framing Meis’ legs with his own. He stood over him, trying to calculate exactly what he wanted.

Meis looked up at him through his dark curtain of hair. He smiled and shook his fringe to the side, giving Gueira full view of his face, “You’re thinking too hard. Just come down here, fluffbrain.”

Every inch of Gueira’s skin was so hot, he nearly thought the Promare had returned. He dropped his knees onto the mattress, straddling Meis, their faces just inches apart. He froze, unsure of what to do, realizing this was the closest they’d ever been.

Meis cocked an eyebrow at him. “Y’know, for someone so fuckin’ cocky all the time, you sure are a pansy at this kind of stuff.”

Gueira smirked, “And for someone who’s usually so quiet, you sure are real chatty. You only talk this much when you’re nervous.”

“And you’re the only one I let close enough to know that.” Meis’ smile softened.

Gueira was certain his heart was going to explode. He took a steadying breath and slowly, carefully, took Meis’ face in his hands, leaned in, and kissed him.

Immediately, Gueira was overwhelmed with a sensory rush. His skin felt like it was unfurling, his lungs unraveling, his heart vibrated, wrapped in electricity. He pulled Meis closer, deepening their kiss.

Meis leaned into it, pushing himself upward. Gueira’s teeth scratched against his lower lip and he chose not to stifle the moan it elicited. They broke for air for only a moment before Gueira leaned back in, firmer, more needy. Without thinking, led only by desire, Meis reached his hands up to hold Gueira’s hips, the lightest pressure in his fingertips.

Gueira froze.  _ I’m trapped, he’s holding me down. What if he hurts me? What if I’ve been wrong all along? What if he doesn’t let me go? I’m stuck. I can’t move. I can’t leave. Escape. ESCAPE. _

Fight-or-flight senses slammed against Gueira’s mind. He shoved Meis away, stumbling backwards, landing on his back on the floor.

“Gueira?!” Meis looked at him, “What happened?”

Gueira’s eyes were wild, pupils blown, breath ragged and frantic. He didn’t speak.

“What-...  _ Ohh.  _ I grabbed your hips.” Understanding fell on Meis’ heart like an avalanche. He’d never seen Gueira respond to touch beyond a near-imperceptible flinch. It was suddenly vividly clear how intense the reaction truly was. “Gueira, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” He sat up slightly, but when Gueira flinched in response to his movement, he wanted to lay down and die then and there.

“I- I’m sorry.” Gueira tried to steady his breath, “I didn’t think I’d have that strong a reaction. I thought I could control it. I thought it would be okay… if it was you.” His throat felt swollen and dry.

“Dude, it’s okay. I’m sorry I pressured you.”

“You didn’t. I wanted it.” Gueira frowned and looked at the ground, finally regaining some composure, “I’ve always wanted it. I just don’t know how to have it without my brain freaking out, I guess.”

“We’ll figure it out, when you’re ready.”

“How are we going to share that fancy bed? I’ll end up flipping out and kicking you off the instant we get too close.”

“No fancy bed until we get to the bottom of this.”

“...I’m sorry.”

“No need. If it’s part of loving you, it’s worth working through.”

Gueira hadn’t moved from the floor. Meis hadn’t moved from the mattress. They sat and looked at each other for a long moment.

Finally, when his heart felt mostly back to normal, Gueira sat up. Meis followed suit, but slowly.

“Meis?” Gueira’s voice was low and soft, he looked away to a spot on the floor as he spoke.

“Yeah?” Meis responded carefully, worried his words might break his partner.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. We’ll sort this out.”

“I know… I’m really looking forward to... to when we can get back to _that_.” He smiled at Meis, soft and tired. Electricity lingered on his lips. He savored it for the rest of the night.


	8. Think Too Much Of The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the shorter chapters lately. I've been super busy and it's either I'm okay with shorter chapters or I have to be okay with only posting once every like six weeks. and that sucks.

_The pain ripping through his bones was unbearable. Every cell in his body screamed in agony as the energy of the Promare was torn from him. With immense effort, he cracked his eyes open just enough to see the seemingly endless wall of pods across from him. Inside each one was one of his people feeling the same pain he was experiencing._

_Their screams were deafening. They were suffering. Suffering because he couldn’t save them._

_If he closed his eyes again, he could pick out some specific voices._

_Gueira and Meis. The old man. The children. Thyma. Wait...Thyma...?_

_Flames shredded his left fingertips, the skin ripping from the bone, the bone fizzling apart. The Promare screamed inside his head, but he couldn’t make out the words. Only the feeling of pain and suffering._

_Another familiar voice. One he’d grown to love hearing. But something was wrong. It was broken, pained, scared, screaming. He pried his eyes open again, just barely._

_Now, directly in front of him, was Galo in his own Promatech pod, screaming, tormented by the pain._

_No. No! Not Galo! He must save Galo._

_He reaches out with his good hand, prying his arm away from the pod he is held in. Through tremendous effort and bearing immense pain, he leans forward, his fingers nearly touching Galo. If he can only just touch him, he can save him…_

_But when his fingertips are just a hair’s breadth from Galo’s chest, they too begin fizzling away. He watches in horror as his arms betray him, sizzling out like July sparklers. As his arms disappear, so too does Galo, his hands and feet catching fire._

_He could feel hot tears on his face, hotter than any flame. Again and again, he tried to reach out, but now had nothing to reach with. He felt the flames eating away at his legs, working their way up his body. He tried to shout to Galo, but no sound came._

_As Galo slowly burned away before him, he could no longer pick out the individual voices of his people. Now, he could only hear one voice: Galo calling out to him in pain._

_“Lio!”_

Lio shot up in bed, breathless.

A dream. The same dream he’d had several nights a week for months.

He was drenched in sweat and his shirt stuck to his back uncomfortably. The clock by the bed read 2:53am. He hadn’t been asleep all that long. It was too early to just stay up. He turned to look at Galo, who was sound asleep next to him.

His partner was on his stomach, arms wrapped around his pillow, head turned toward Lio, mouth open and drooling slightly. Lio smiled. It could be argued that peaceful Galo was his favorite Galo. Stress and anxiety had such a hold on them both that seeing Galo relax was a rare treat.

He sighed and stood. _If I’m going to be awake, I’m going to at least take a walk._

Lio dug around the apartment until he found a stickynote pad and a pen.

_‘Went on a walk. Will be back soon. -L’_

He left the note on his pillow for Galo to see should he wake up before he returned, donned his jacket and shoes, and left the apartment.

The crisp evening air was immediately refreshing and sent a wave of calm across Lio’s nerves. Their conversation before bed had been a stressful one. That combined with his recurring nightmare, and Lio was emotionally tapped out. He tucked his hands into the satin-smooth pockets of his jacket and took a leisurely pace down the sidewalk, mostly intending to just circle the block a couple times. He mulled over what had been said that night.

_“I- I’m so sorry, Lio -- I’m sorry I haven’t said anything. I love you, I do. It’s just been so hard. I’ve been scared. I’m scared I’m not good enough for you.”_

_“There’s nothing to apologize for. I’m sorry for getting angry. I love you too.”_

_“You deserve so much better.”_

_“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”_

_“Yes I do. I’ll just ruin things between us. You heard Kray, I’m just a cancer.”_

_“Galo, Kray’s never been right about a single thing in his life, and he sure as hell isn’t right about you.”_

_“...I think he’s right, though.”_

_“How could he be?”_

_“I ruined everything. It’s my fault so many Burnish are dead and so many more have suffered. It’s my fault half the city is destroyed. It’s my fault you almost died.”_

_“Galo, none of that is your fault. That was all Kray.”_

_“But he used me to do it all. He used me to get people on his side.”_

_“That doesn’t put you at fault.”_

_“Yes it does.”_

_“How could it possibly?”_

_“I could’ve stopped him, could’ve changed something or done something different. I could’ve prevented all of this.”_

_“You saw him kill the Professor. He would’ve done anything to get what he wanted, whether you were part of the plan or not.”_

_“So at worst I’m an accomplice, and at best I’m irrelevant.”_

_“What? No, that’s not what I meant!”_

Lio paused his walk to scrub his hands across his face. “He’s such an idiot…” he sighed to no one in particular. He was learning Galo was a deeply emotional thinker, passion and feeling governing his line of thought. Lio understood, but couldn’t relate. He’d always been a more logical thinker. Not that he wasn’t emotional. He was. _Often to a fault,_ he thought to himself. But he didn’t often allow his emotions to dictate how he thought of himself. _Maybe only the people around me…_ He mused, thoughts lingering on Galo’s peacefully sleeping form. He allowed the warmth in his stomach to rise and pass without forcing it away.

Logically, he could see how Galo made the jump to believe he was to blame for Kray’s rise to power. But he knew it was a jump made in heavy emotion, and he wasn’t sure how to convince Galo to step away from those feelings. He wasn’t sure he _could_. 

He remembered how deeply sad Galo looked during their conversation.

_“I guess I just think… if I don’t do anything, then I can’t fuck it up.”_

_“That’s why you haven’t wanted to talk?”_

_“Yeah. If I don’t try to act on my feelings, I can’t ruin what we already have. I can’t… I can’t lose what I have with you, Lio. It’s the best thing I’ve got.”_

_“You’re not gonna lose what we have, Galo.”_

_“How can you know that?”_

_“...I guess I don’t_ know _it. But…”_

_“...”_

_“I trust you.”_

_“I don’t deserve your trust.”_

_“Why not? Every time I’ve needed you, you’ve been there without question.”_

_“Anyone would do that for you, Lio.”_

_“No they wouldn’t. Not like you.”_

_“...”_

_“You re-lit my fire, Galo.”_

_“It was glorified CPR.”_

_“You realize you’re trying to downplay saving my life?”_

_“Saving people is my job.”_

_“And you’re incredible at it.”_

_“That’s debatable.”_

_“In what world, Galo?! You saved my life, you saved the lives of countless Burnish, hell, you saved the lives of every single person on the planet!”_

_“No,_ we _did that. Together.”_

_“...You’re right, we did. But I couldn’t have done it without you. I’d have just died without you. And all of that aside, there’s your time saving people in Burning Rescue.”_

_“I couldn’t save everyone.”_

When he’d said that, Galo rubbed the burns on his arm, as if lingering on their memory. At the time, Lio had chosen not to ask about who Galo couldn’t save. It wasn’t the time. But he was deeply curious. Maybe he’d ask one day. Lio was no stranger to the sleepless torment of knowing you couldn’t save a life. He’d lost many Burnish he felt responsible for. And he knew how painful reliving those memories could be. It would be quite some time, if ever, before he would ask Galo about it, assuming Galo didn’t tell him on his own.

He yawned as he neared the end of his second loop around the block. Perhaps it was time to return to the apartment and try again to sleep.

_“Come on,” he’d said to Galo after a long pause, hand reaching out and lacing their fingers together, “we can talk more tomorrow. Let’s get some sleep.”_

_Galo didn’t argue and followed Lio to the bedroom. For the first time, at least by Lio’s account, they went to bed together. Galo didn’t bother to set the coffee maker. They slid under the covers at the same time and snuggled into each other automatically. Galo held onto him tighter than he ever had, as if he was scared Lio might leave._

Lio crept back into the apartment. Once in the bedroom, seeing Galo still asleep, he crumpled the note he’d left and set it on the bedside table.

“...going somewhere?” Galo mumbled in a sleepy voice, eyes barely open. _Not asleep after all._

“Returning, actually. I went on a walk around the block.” Lio said quietly as he slipped back into bed.

Galo lifted his arm, raising the covers up and inviting Lio to curl in against him, “Nightmare again?”

Lio paused. “...how did you know I have nightmares?”

“Lucky guess. I wake up in night sweats sometimes, too. I just assumed it was for similar reasons.” He said as Lio scootched close, tucking his face into the soft curve of Galo’s chest. Galo pulled him in tightly and nuzzled into Lio’s hair.

They stayed like that for a long moment, Lio quietly listening to Galo’s sleepy heartbeat, though he could tell Galo was still awake.

“Hey Galo?”

“Hm...?” He sounded half asleep.

“I know you’ve been scared to act on your feelings, so would it be alright if I acted on mine?”

Galo’s eyes were fully open now, and he looked down at Lio, “...huh?”

Lio looked up at him, their noses nearly touching. “Would it be alright if I kiss you?”

In the dim streetlamp light trickling through the bedroom window, Lio could see Galo’s face flush in realtime. “I, um-...y-yeah…”

“Are you sure?”

Galo swallowed, “Ye-yeah… I’d like that.”

Lio took Galo’s face in his hands, leaned up, and pressed their lips together, featherlight. Galo inhaled deeply, as if bracing for something to hit him, and after a couple brief moments of simply holding their lips together, Lio pulled away, savoring the way his lips felt like a flower in bloom.

Galo’s eyelashes fluttered as they made eye contact. “Oh, wow… I, uh… Lio, could I, um… can we…?” He tumbled through his request, bull in a china shop.

Lio couldn’t help but laugh, “Yeah, we can kiss again if you want.”

Immediately pressing down into him, Galo let go of the impossibly large breath he’d been holding, and kissed Lio, warm and heady. Lio felt like every nerve in his body was vibrating. He leaned up into Galo, wrapping his arms around Galo’s neck and pulling him in closer. When Galo ran out of air, he pulled back only a moment before leaning back in and kissing Lio over and over, short, needy passes of lips, as if he was begging. 

As Lio passed his fingers along Galo’s cheeks, he felt warm tears under his fingertips. He paused only briefly before he leaned up and began kissing them away. But the action only seemed to make more flow. Soon, Galo was fully crying into Lio’s hands.

“I love you, Lio, so much. I know I suck at this, but please give me a chance to-... to be the right person for you. Please.” He leaned into the curve of Lio’s neck.

Lio pulled him into a tight hug. “You don’t suck at this any more than I do,” he huffed a laugh, “I’m not going anywhere, okay? Let’s talk more in the morning, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Galo managed between his tears, “Thank you, Lio.”

“Shh- don’t thank me, you goofball. I haven’t done anything.” He smiled into the fuzzy side of Galo’s head, “I love you, but you sure can be an idiot sometimes. You think too much.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I like you how you are. I just wish you would be more gentle with yourself.”

“...The therapist thinks so too, I think.”

“So you should probably try, then, yeah?”

“Yeah… I’ll try.”

“Good.”


	9. Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lio gives Galo a haircut and they talk about their pasts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I wanna say thank you so much to everyone who's left a comment. They genuinely are what keeps me writing. It means the world to me. Thank you. <3
> 
> If anyone wants to follow me on social media, I'm @4ugust4mos on Twitter and Instagram (though I'm far more active on Twitter than Insta).
> 
> For this chapter, I wanted to get into their backstories and give them some opportunities for intimate dialog. Next chapter we're gonna start getting into some courtroom drama stuff...

Galo took stock of himself in the mirror and frowned. He looked tired. Dark circles had begun forming under his eyes. He scraped his nails through the ragged sides of his mohawk. They were getting too long. He considered texting Aina and asking when she could come to trim up his sides, but he was feeling less social than normal. He sighed.

“Hey,” Lio yawned from the bathroom doorway, “you alright?”

“Yeah…” Galo stretched, trying to shake off the weight on his shoulders, “Just need a haircut.”

“I can do it for you if you want.”

“...Yeah?” He turned to Lio, quizzical.

Lio shrugged, “Sure. I’ve been cutting my own hair for years. And I’ve done a lot of haircuts for Gueira and Meis over the years, too… well, Gueira. Meis, not so much.”

“Well,” Galo thought for a moment, “Sure if you don’t mind.”

Within a few moments, Lio has a dining chair pulled into the middle of the living room, as it had the most open space. They dug through Galo’s bathroom until they found his clippers and scissors, and Lio followed him into the living room. Galo sat down, slightly nervous, though he’s unsure why. Lio stood in front of him and pondered his hair.

“So, buzz the sides, right?” He asked.

“Yeah, and… could you trim the dead ends?”

Lio smiled, “Sure.”

As Lio turned on the clippers and began trimming, Galo struggled with the silence. They hadn't talked about the previous night, but he wasn’t sure how to bring it up. Instead, he opted for small talk.

“So you did this for Gueira and Meis?”

“Yeah, and a few other Burnish folks, too.”

“I guess I never thought about how you’d all need haircuts while you were on the run.”

“Well, you don’t really _need_ a haircut when you’re running for your life. But I think it helped people feel a little more normal. Morale was always low, so I did what I could to keep spirits up.”

Galo frowned, lost in thought, “It must’ve been so hard…” He said it without thinking.

“It was. But it was better than the alternative.”

“Yeah, Freeze Force was ruthless.”

“Not Freeze Force,” there was a dark wistfulness to Lio’s voice, “my life before Mad Burnish and Freeze Force.”

Galo tensed. Lio had never talked about his life before Mad Burnish. “What was it like for you, before that?”

“Until my awakening, it was normal. I was a happy kid. My parents were great. I don’t remember what they did for a living, but I know we were comfortable.” Lio moved behind Galo and gently tipped his head forward to start buzzing his neckline. 

Lio’s hands on his neck made Galo shiver.

“When I was nine,” Lio continued, “my parents and I were watching the news and we saw a report on a man rescuing a little boy from a house fire the night before. Turns out it was Kray,” Lio paused, holding the clippers away and placing his free hand on Galo’s shoulder. He gave it a gentle squeeze, “And you.”

Galo gave a quiet “Hm.” as a response, but said nothing. Lio went back to trimming.

“I know I’ve never really talked about it, but it _is_ interesting that you and I met. I’d call it destiny if I believed in that sort of thing.” Lio smiled softly as he trimmed around Galo’s ear.

“What makes you say that?” Galo suppressed the urge to turn to him. He didn’t want a bald spot on the side of his head.

“Because of what happened afterward.” Lio paused, in thought. Galo thought it might be for dramatic effect. It worked. He was itching with anticipation to learn more about Lio’s life. “Something about Kray didn’t sit right with me, even then.” Lio continued, “But I didn’t think much of him. Instead, I couldn’t stop thinking about that little boy and how he lost his home and his family. Later that evening, my parents and I were sitting at the dinner table. I was so lost in thought, I couldn’t eat.”

Lio shook the stray hairs from the clippers and started making a few minor touch-ups to the edges of Galo’s mohawk. “See, as far as we could tell, Burnish Awakenings happen during instances of extreme emotion. And it seemed to nearly universally be _negative_ emotions.”

“Yeah,” Galo agreed, “We gathered that, too. I’ve heard rumors of it happening because of happiness or excitement, but nothing concrete.”

“While I was sitting with my parents at the dinner table, all I could think about was how that little boy, that little Galo, would never get to sit with his parents at the dinner table again. To me, it was such an immeasurable, inconceivable loss. I started to cry, thinking about it. And I couldn’t stop.” Lio turned off the clippers and stood still for a moment, hands still at the part of Galo’s hair.

Galo realized where this story was heading and his stomach dropped. He turned to Lio, “...No. That can _not_ be how it happened, Lio.”

Lio’s stare was blank and directionless as if he was lost in the memory. Slow tears rolled from his eyes, “I cried so hard and for so long, feeling your loss so deeply, that I started crying flames. And then it just… engulfed me.”

Galo was crying now, too. “...No way…”

“My parents chased me out of the house before I could cause too much damage. They called me a monster, said I killed their son. I lived on the streets for a couple years. Then eventually, I moved out to the wastes. I jumped around different Burnish groups, never staying anywhere for long. About five years after they kicked me out, I went looking for my parents. I just needed to see what their life was like… if they still thought of me. I found them. They had a new son, maybe two years old. They were happy.”

“Lio… I’m so sorry.” Galo reached for Lio’s hand, but he didn’t react. 

“I never went back,” Lio continued, “I built a life for myself on my own. I decided I didn’t need anybody else. No one specific, anyway. As long as I was helping people like me, people who had been abandoned by their loved ones, that was enough.” After a moment, Lio’s vision seemed to finally clear. He looked at Galo, laced their fingers together, and smiled sadly. “And then, one day, I found Gueira and Meis. And you know the rest.” 

Galo blinked away fresh tears, “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Lio brushed a stray strand of hair away from Galo’s face, “I didn’t want to give you another thing to blame yourself for.” He set the clippers aside and picked up the scissors.

Galo straightened, letting Lio get back to work. He frowned. For all the things he felt he was at fault for, he’d never considered himself to be at fault for the loss of his parents or the fire that killed them. If Lio had told him about his Awakening sooner, would he have blamed himself for it? _Probably,_ Galo thought. But he tried to look at the circumstances objectively, removing his feelings. No part of what happened to Lio was Galo’s fault, it was simply a terrible coincidence.

Still, Galo was frustrated. “I feel like I owe you a personal story.”

Lio paused, scissors hovering above the strands of hair pinched between his fingers. “Why would you think that?”

“You told me a personal story that’s hard to tell. I feel like we should be even.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“I want to.”

“Okay, if you want to. I’m happy to listen.”

Galo thought for a moment, pondering his hands in his lap. The burns snaking up his left arm caught his eye. “You’ve been wondering how I got my burns, right?”

“Oh, uh- yeah, I have. How did you know?”

Galo let out a sharp laugh, “Everyone wonders how I got my burns. That’s part of the reason I wear the sleeve: To avoid answering questions.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Lio said quietly as he snipped away at the dead ends of Galo’s mohawk.

“Nah, I want to. It’s an interesting coincidence involving us both, too. Just like yours.”

Now Lio was truly intrigued, “Yeah?”

“Yeah, it happened on my first day on the job at Burning Rescue.” Galo sighed, “I convinced the chief to let me help with a call, even though I had no formal training. It was a building fire started by Mad Burnish.”

Lio felt a pang of guilt boil up in his stomach.

“We got all the people out,” Galo continued, “Except one. There was a young woman trapped in one of the offices. I went in to rescue her. It was dangerous and reckless, but I couldn’t just leave her.”

“Of course,” Lio said with a smile, “it’s in your nature.”

“I got her out, but…” Galo sighed, “When she came to, she was so scared that… well, it turned out she was Burnish. Her Awakening happened right in front of me. And she burned my arm in the process.”

“I’m sorry, Galo.” Lio frowned. He knew he shouldn’t, but he felt partly at fault.

“I didn’t put the pieces together until afterward, but that young woman was the same one _you_ tried to save in the cave after we met.” 

Lio froze, “Thyma?!”

“Yeah.”

“She’s the one who burned you?”

“Yeah, hell of a coincidence, huh?”

“Yeah…”

They were both silent for a moment. 

Galo was the one to break it, smiling, “You sure you don’t believe in destiny after two huge coincidences like that?”

Lio laughed, “Nah, destiny means our actions don’t matter.”

“Yeah,” Galo sighed, “But doesn’t that sound freeing sometimes?”

Lio smiled and placed a kiss on the top of Galo’s head, “I can see how it would, especially for you.” He went back to trimming dead ends, “So, do you want to talk? About us?”

“I think,” Galo thought for a moment and took a deep breath, “I think I still want to take things slowly but… I think I’m ready to give it a name.”

Lio was standing in front of him now, trimming the last of the dead ends from the front of his mohawk. “Yeah?”

Galo took Lio’s free hand and Lio froze, looking down at Galo.

“Lio?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you, umm- well, boyfriend sounds kind of childish. Would you be my partner? Officially?” Galo could feel his cheeks and ears flush as he asked.

Lio’s stomach fluttered, and he smiled, “Yeah, of course. I would love that.”


End file.
